Hell Hound: Savaged
by AnotherLifeOfWar
Summary: As strange creatures with bioluminescent fangs ravage the block, Alexandra finds herself trapped deep in the root of this mess. With the sole obligation of defending her home side by side with the people she had sworn out of her life, will she be able to survive, or will she be dragged further into the mouths of the hounds? Biggz/OC BiggzxOC
1. one: Tangerine

**A/N**: This is my first fanfiction, and I'm quite thrilled to be posting it. This fanfic does indeed follow the amazing _Attack the Block_ movie. As stated in the short summary, this is a Biggz/OC story. [edited: January 2012]

Disclaimer: I do **not** own Attack the Block or any of the characters, its plot, or anything involving said movie; it all belongs to the amazing Joe Cornish. I do, however, own my OC Alexandra. Word.

* * *

_Tangerine, tangerine,  
living reflection from a dream;  
I was her love,  
she was my queen,  
and now a thousand years between._

-Led Zeppelin

* * *

Comprehensively distraught was one way to describe my current state, someone at this very moment was trying their hardest to emotionally disrupt my usual serenity and I just wasn't having it. They were doing an amazing job at it too, and I had to give them some credit. However, to say it wasn't pissing me off would be a lie. I felt my throat close up from my buried anger, my obvious irritation. The words that bounced inside the confines of my mind were eager to spill out, albeit I didn't even consider ushering any of those insults for I knew the whole thing would grow into a catastrophe. I was having enough of a catastrophe as it was, and I honestly didn't need anymore.

What exactly am I feeling? Besides the obvious...behind my stoic and calculated face, there was no expression to read. People would probably guess indifference, or get a sense that I wasn't scared witless, but I was, and it was a mixture of several emotions picking at me all at once. Imagine it like this, I'm nervously trying to sneak out of the flat. Luckily, I make it outside and creep to the elevator, I'm nearing the exit when my aunt screeches after me, chasing me out the door of the building. My inner turmoils scream 'unhappy' at this moment. Who wouldn't be?

My well-being is constantly being tampered with; I struggle to maintain a balanced schedule due to my unwavering lack of motivation and if I even attempt to do something, it fails to meet my expectations. If I'm not in my room staring up at the ceiling with music blaring from worn-out speakers...I'm in someone else's room staring at their ceiling with a foggy vision and shaky legs. His forceful hands explore every inch of my ashen skin, his feeble lips encouraged by my deep breaths, each time gripping at my hips boisterously and with more urgency. Sweet music seemed to always be gushing from his speakers.

The disruptive nature of my aunt hadn't been the only thing to wreck my calm. For the last 2 days or so, I'd been forced out of my usual routine. My boyfriend Sebastian (ex-boyfriend now, I suppose), broke things off with me practically out of nowhere. Things had been fine between us the day before the break up, but still, the next morning I received a text message, a rather long text, with bittersweet words explaining the reason behind his decision.

To summarize his long confessions into a short verse, he had grown tired of me and decided it best to dump me now before things progressed. He also confessed his undying love for another girl, by the name of Alice, and as clichéd as the situation was, that girl had been my best friend since a few years back. He pushed me out of his life again, just as I had pushed him and so on and so forth. We had been on and off for those 2 years, though with all the unexpected drama, it had felt like the mere months were bunched into one single event: the pre-organized meeting, the physical contact, the emotional bond, and later on…the break up. It was like this constant, awful cycle that we put ourselves through over and over yet again. It had no fucking end.

That's the shit I put myself through just to have something familiar to drag along. That's also what I put others through. The majority didn't bother sticking around, and for the few that did, I pushed them all away…figures. I promise you though; this was not my only flaw.

My name is Alexandra Violette Turner. A month before, I had the pleasure of surviving and celebrating yet another year of living, 18 years to the day when my mother squeezed me out. The pregnancy had been unexpected, by the way. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure in their state of poverty, my parents had loved me just like they loved my 2 oldest siblings, but to speak painfully honest, I hadn't been planned like them.

I walked off into the walkway and gathered my drawing utensils from the ground. My aunt had thrown my bag out into the walkway. She leaned against the door and sobbed sadly as she always did. I was the reason for her tears, and not in a way that condemns me but rather…to pity my state of being. I wasn't a monster; I wasn't doing anything she probably thought I was. I gulped down the guilt, watched as my uncle stepped outside, comforted my aunt and took her back inside the building. He didn't even look at me…not anymore…for a long time now.

Damn it, this always had to happen. I was 18 now, and I didn't understand why she was so adamant in keeping me around so much. I brushed off the thoughts however, and messily shoved various notebooks, drawing pads, pens and pencils into my bookbag and zipped it closed. I considered not coming back until much later, but I had nowhere else to stay. I didn't have a boyfriend, I didn't have friends, and the few people that scolded me each time I pushed them away probably didn't want to deal with me anymore. I always did that, I always fucked things up.

I stood up from the ground with a sigh, I was tired, and a few relaxing hours of drawing and writing would most likely cure all that. I headed off to the only place I knew reserved the tranquility and quietness that I needed, the harmony that—

I stopped mid-step as a considerable amount of eyes stared right at me. I recognized those lovely faces instantly, recognized the boys and the girls, the people I used to hang out with before I messed things up. The boys, I couldn't abide to look at, and the girls…well, I hadn't spoken to them in such a long time. It brought me back to old and distant memories. During those times, we had been close and still friendly towards one another. I knew for a fact that Dimples and Dionne hated my guts, for various reasons. I looked at them and reconsidered my words, they didn't just hate me, they despised me. It was Dionne's eye roll and Dimples' glare that snapped me back to reality.

In a second's worth, and away from trailing back to old times, I averted my gaze completely embarrassed and nervously walked across the walkway. I hoped to whatever supreme being that nobody would talk to me, or just…say anything in general. I was already shaky enough, damn it. It wasn't that I didn't like them, hell, they had done nothing to me, but…

I almost groaned out loud when a throat was cleared and my name was uttered. Tia…so typical, she leaned forward from her spot against the wall, and caught my gaze. I met eyes with her as she nodded my way in a casual greet. I stopped momentarily, offered a small smile, included Dimples in on it too, whom merely inspected me from head to toe. I greeted back the same way, pronounced Tia's name and rushed past the group, not daring to look at the boys. A few snickers were heard, probably Pest and Dennis. "Shut it, bruv," Jerome's voice was the last thing I heard as I dashed down the stairs and away from that particular direction.

I disliked it, the fact that I had drifted apart from them so easily. But I guess I made terrible mistakes in my earlier days and I wasn't about to mend things. I would most likely end up breaking them again, anyways. I had been friends with those girls since I was 9, when I first moved to the block. Dimples had been my best friend. Back then, we were painfully inseparable. I guess even those sorts of friendships wear off eventually. It's not that I intended for that to happen…but it did and I let it. I was the one whom stopped talking to them.

What could I possibly do now? Nothing! And just like that, I'll probably trail back to my old ways. Old habits die hard, or so they say.

* * *

It was evening when I decided to head to the park. The clock was somewhere in those particular minutes when the sun is sinking down and casts those beautiful colors. It was one final closing event before it parted ways and left us in total darkness; probably quarter to 7. I didn't manage to draw anything, only wrote a few thoughts down and skimmed through previous diary entries…all the way back to mid-September of last year when Brian…I forgot he didn't go by that name anymore, he was Biggz now. We had been close, close friends at first. As our friendship advanced, things lead towards that certain direction, and it made everything awkward. As that progressed, our friendship grew to more. Needless to say, we got sucked into it. Where Sebastian had been absent, Biggz presence caved in and…

I shuddered as I opened the diner door. The cold outside bit at my cheeks, and I already missed the warmth of the room. The streets were nowhere near full, but they would be soon enough. The string of fireworks would start and families would be out to watch in awe. It was November 5th, and traditions were traditions, I couldn't utter any negativity, I personally loved the spectacle.

A buzz vibrated against my thigh, and with numbing fingers, I reached into my pocket for my mobile phone. The screen light hit my vision and read, "1 message". I pressed a finger against the screen and it opened up. It was from my uncle, telling me I could go on home, also warning me to not do anything stupid. I shoved the cellphone back into my pocket, grimaced, and walked down the small hallway and into the sidewalk.

I was thinking maybe he had taken my aunt out of the house, as he so previously did on various occasions. I truly hoped so; I literally had nowhere else to stay and I wasn't in the mood to stand my aunt's one-sided arguing. I weighted my options and opted for staying a few minutes in the park to watch the fireworks, it would be for a few moments, what good wouldn't come off that?

Down the street I was walking on, I spotted a group of boys standing near the corner, cradling cigarettes in one hand and igniting them in order as one of them held up a lighter. The breeze carried the stench of weed towards me and I scrunched my nose, afraid I would sneeze. With bandanas and hoods down, I looked into rather familiar faces again and as the sound of my footsteps caught up to them, they turned my way. Biggz and Pest were situated on bikes, breathing out smoke from their mouths. Dennis gazed the opposite direction as if I were a plague, and only Jerome offered a small smile. Their prominent, quiet leader, Moses, gazed too, tilting his chin up in a casual greet. I did the same. I must mention: there was no bad blood between us, not with him or Jerome, at least.

I don't know why I even put myself through it. I knew the outcome of this. Yet my curiosity pushed me to observe. I was stuck in that particular scrutiny and like always, it captivated every part of my senses. He was handsome, clad in a black double-breasted overcoat that hugged close to his rather skinny frame. He also wore a purple hoodie under the coat. His eyes were precious, gawked at me and ushered away any thought that tried to get a hold of my attention. It was such a selfish act. I remembered to breathe, remembered all that suffocating heat amongst that cold. It wasn't the sort of heat from a fire, but something that scratched my insides, like the sun settling in to travel inside my veins.

We broke off our inspective curiosity as Pest shoved him and handed the joint over to him. Biggz frowned at first, said something, and grinned nervously. I didn't bother to wait around anymore, especially after Moses turned to me once more. Biggz was now too preoccupied staring elsewhere and I understood that as my cue to fuck off. I crossed the road and entered the darkness of the park. The end of the sun's last rays shimmered off to nothing.


	2. two: Crepuscular

Disclaimer: I do **not** own Attack the Block or any of the characters, its plot, or anything involving said movie; it all belongs to the amazing Joe Cornish. I do, however, own my OC Alexandra. Word.

* * *

_Thinking how it used to be,  
does she still remember times like these?  
to think of us again? And I do._

-Zeppelin

* * *

Long before had the fireworks started. Minutes began to pass and they dragged on seconds after their awake. The cold liquid inside the frosted bottle was soon to become nothing but a few droplets. Where I now sat, the open field and the buildings out in the distance showed a spectacular panorama. It left me to truly appreciate it in delight. The colorful display peaked from behind the tall structures, lighting up the grass around. Thin dancing stars slithered and burst in the darkened skies.

There's a definite, uncategorized feeling to being alone in a park with fireworks thundering above. It was like a hidden pleasure, sort of making it a secret spot for me. It seemed as though I was the only one who now enjoyed the unruffled prospect, away from people and problems. It was beautiful. I supposed other people enjoyed sharing this moment with friends, family and such but for me, it was completely the opposite.

I took another drag from the slim blunt; the smoke swirled and whirled inside my mouth and nostrils for a bit longer than necessary. The smell was soothing, and it relaxed my muscles in an instant. From where I sat I could barely spotted the boys. They moved around diligently, waited for something. I wondered what. They were too far away though, and I doubted it was even them.

I recalled a few memories...like the first time I got Biggz to smoke some pot with Pest and me. He had succumbed easily to the peer pressure that day. We later had to drag him to his flat when we saw he couldn't even walk on his own.

I snickered to myself and threw the now empty bottle on the ground next to me. The skin of the blunt slowly made its way to the tip and sadly, it was my last one. I crushed it with the bottle and stood to face away from the vivid colors of the fireworks, as they gave me a terrible headache, mostly just a strong pressure near my eyes. I shouldn't have drunk that much.

I walked around the infamous Adventure Playground, and left behind me the swings; basically just to get way from all the kiddy games and blotches of dry grass around more I walked, the more the grass became anew and I stopped once I realized I was several feet away from the direct route to the block. The asphalt road that lead to my home.

For the last few years I had grown accustomed to this place. Sure, it wasn't the safest, but what place was? Global news never spoke of safety, they only advertised the danger, and the despicableness that humans were capable of…this was not any different. Despite the negative aspects that were thrown around by people, the block was my haven, and no one would be able to change my opinion. I had learned not to trade safety for something that everyone else conformed to…and as much as I would give to take back past decisions…I knew it was too late.

Anyways, I don't think I had neither the time nor the capacity to continue dwelling in the realms of my guilt. I found a perfect spot and plopped right down, made myself comfortable on the grass. Once more, I cherished the tall buildings that surrounded my home, waited longingly for the precious sleep to approach me. The first yawn escaped my lips and it fully embraced me, letting my back rest against the ground, too entranced by the way my eyelids grew heavy...finally they dropped closed and ended the scene with a dark so familiar…the dark of my mind.

It didn't take long, and soon enough...I awoke in my dreams.

* * *

It punctured me, a drone…a ringing in constant repeat.

My dreams invited in all sorts of things. I don't remember the majority of it, but I uneasily went through a series of events that shocked me back to reality. I supposed the anguish was what stirred me.

In my dream, a man with no legs crawled from one house to another. He hid and scurried to escape from flickers of light that tried to strike him. Eventually, a full force of luminosity hit his arm and his entire limb disappeared. I spotted two boys which I later recognized as Moses and Pest. They both ran to the man and took him by the arm. They dragged him towards the shadows, and once there Moses looked straight at me, "Come off it, we gotta go, now!" He had ordered, and I ran with them. We made it inside a blue house, bare of any furniture. I finally got a good look at the man, only to identify that face as Biggz's.

As I lay there awake and dazed, I tried to convince myself that the distress had beckoned me to consciousness. However, everything I felt contradicted with my thoughts. A deep ringing resonated in my ears, maximizing the ire of my hangover up a notch, though I'm sure it hadn't even been an hour after I had fallen into a comfortable trance.

I was still in a state of discomfort. I thought of nothing but incoherency and worried more about my throbbing head than anything…when in sudden fracture, the realm of conscious veracity shouted at me to react, counter, whatever, as long as I did something! The fear grew, air rushed out of my lungs and I abruptly stood on two legs, shaken to the bone. I groaned as my headache intensified.

Strong surges of rays flared across the park, lighting up absolutely everything. It was like a fucking festival for a second, before the thoughts of, "maybe it's morning, already," got to me. I realized it wasn't the sun; it was pure brightness falling down, something I hadn't seen…ever!

It terrified me ridiculously, and the headache dispersed to the back of my mind, no longer a first priority. Shit, I didn't know what the heck was happening.

Along with the light came the rumbling, like a freaking plane flying much too close to the ground... total tranquility in opening display, and THEN the small, unsettling earthquake that shook the ground around me. The impact sent me flying. I slid painfully against the ground, on to my side and on my stomach, rolling and rolling away. Finally I stopped, face down on the grass. My body immediately ached, my breathing became difficult; that wasn't even the beginning, I assure you.

What frightened me most was the wave of warm breeze as it crashed against my skin. It was winter, for fuck's sake, where was the warmth coming from?

My face burnt temporarily, all those particles I seemed to have dusted from the ground made my eyes water. I had to spit out bits of grass, bits of rock, "fuck," Everything resonated, ached. I couldn't formulate any explanation until I recognized the lights from the fireworks on the background. I heard them, but there was no clarification for what had just happened. The headache was no relief either and having to constantly think about buying some aspirin was no help whatsoever.

I raised myself to my knees, and inspected the surrounding area. There was a small inferno near the playground but as soon as it went on, it went out. I seemed to be stuck with having to scrutinize, as I was unable to see a lot of things. (The fireworks came back to mind. The warmth got under my skin, but why...it was freezing cold out.)

Maybe that was it; just a firework that had landed too close, something had gone wrong, surely. I grimaced and finally sat, buried my face into my hands. Something wet, blood, there were small droplets of blood. I wiped them off, wiped my face with my sleeves. The fireworks…I could no longer hear them.

Then the dream came, and I recalled Biggz. I remembered the eyes. This was all too unsettling to handle, or to even comprehend. This was not my night, "I need some aspirin, I need a bed," I pinched the bridge of my nose in hopes to calm myself, to stop my heart from hammering so hard against my chest. At least to equalize my breathing with my sluggish train of thought.

I stood up, only to feel extremely nauseous. Once on my feet, the thoughts didn't clear off. I shuffled over to where I had been before, noting that my cellphone was not in my pocket as it must had fallen off sometime after whatever-the-fuck had sent me flying a few feet off. I spotted it, grasped it, and shoved it safely to its place. Aspirin, I'd look for that and sleep off whatever had just happened.

I turned around, walked forward towards the buildings. I had to get to the safety of my home, lock the doors and bury myself under several blankets. As I had said before…this was NOT my night…I stopped short and my mind instantly tried to formulate excuses for what I was seeing now. Shit, I gave up. My eyes widened in shock, "What the fuck is that,"

* * *

A large, blazing rock stuck out of the grass; but as I looked closer, the ground was bent around it. The first thing that came into mind was the word 'meteor'. I circled it once, seeing the tree had been affected as well. A few branches were torn and blazed. This huge rock seemed strangely like charcoal. I didn't need to touch it to see it would be hot enough to melt skin. There were a few engraved…things, I couldn't see them clearly but the dimmed street lights showed off a few designs.

As I got my cellphone out to use the backlight, a sudden shuffle made me jump and my body froze over entirely. A sensation of uneasiness ruptured through my spine, and the deafening silence eerily droned in my ears. Still feeling threatened, I instantly faced the direction the noise came from, only to meet with the usual darkness.

Something…there was something that lured me in, even as my stomach flipped from the nausea and my headache still pounded…I gulped all that down and decided to approach the playground. The same shuffling sound could be heard. I didn't quicken my steps, didn't really need to, I could hear perfectly from this distance. I made it to the playground, tripped a bit over the cement ground.

I drew even closer, nervous as hell for some reason. I couldn't phantom what this urge to run was; I went against my better judgment and instead swallowed down my cowardice in an attempt to tranquillize myself. Quite literally, I felt and heard my heartbeat against my ears, which only added up to the momentum. I needed to calm myself considerably before proceeding, or else I would bolt before inspecting whatever was in the playground.

Before I managed to think of anything else, something trundled, a big fat shadow moved from the ground to one of the towers. Its size was familiar to that of a bear's, but there were no bears around here, a huge dog maybe… no, it couldn't be that either. It stood on 4 legs on top of the tower, its back hunched and its breaths heavy. There was something ultimately weird about it, but damn, it was too dark to see.

"Looks like a…monkey…" I mumbled, "A huge monkey, at that," First things first, I slipped my phone out of my pocket again and took several pictures, mostly for my sanity, so I didn't wake up the next morning thinking it had been a dream or a hallucination. The dim light brightened the photo up considerably, but the pictures all showed the same blob of shadow up on the tower.

I stood and watched the creature, contemplated, until I began walking once more. There was no reaction, it shuffled, and the sound was a bit more as if it were sniffing around. I grabbed a pebble, not sure from where, and threw it hard. It hit against the dark and bounced back to me.

I realized it had hit that thing, and my nerves raised considerably. The shadow moved, my heart dropped to my stomach and I felt the cold in frigid waves. Huge bioluminescent fangs came into view; I could do anything else but gasp and take a step back. A sharp shriek came from its mouth, and it pierced through my ears. Flight or fight instincts severed into my brain; I took no time and started running the fuck away from it, whatever the heck it was.

Why didn't I think things through before I launched myself through my stupidity? I cursed lightly but thankfully did not hear any commotion behind me. I didn't look back, obviously not.

Instead, what I heard were a serious of shouts, a rather familiar voice, "Pogo! Stay! Stay!" I paid no mind, yelped as something graced against my leg and quickened my steps. Thankfully, I managed not to stumble over anything as I sprinted as fast as I could. I heard barks after that and thin growls, nothing like the shriek from that monstrosity I ran from.

I paid attention to my surroundings and managed to spot 5 figures that stood just where I had once been, besides the giant charcoal. A sense of relief washed over my fright; I recognized Moses first. Jerome, Biggz, Pest, and Dennis were behind him. They looked my way, noticeably perplexed.

"…Alexa?" Biggz spoke out, the boys all turned to me, and I knew the questions bit at them. I reached them, and paid no attention as I stared back towards the playground. They followed suit, "There's something fucked up over there," I barely managed; Moses nodded and pointed at one of the towers, "There." The shadow stood frozen. From this distance it seemed unrecognizable, just a splotch of black.

"Holy fuck..." Dennis stressed out; he spotted the creature at once. I ogled with the same shock, unconsciously moved backwards, ready to bolt. I felt a hand on my shoulder and without knowing who it had been, I slipped into tranquility. From the corner of my eye I saw that it was Biggz and he pulled me behind him. I gulped. It would be better if I concentrated on the beast.

"Where, fam, where?" Jerome rose, in a voice filled with worry. I breathed out shakily, afraid. I couldn't even bring myself to point, I was so transfixed on that thing, and I wondered why it hadn't trailed behind me before. So many questions begged to be answered, but there was no time.

"…on top of the tower!" Biggz answered the older boy. I could no longer concentrate, too enthralled on the barks of the small dog. I stumbled in my step as I surged forward, tried to strain my eyesight, but no luck, I could see as much as the others could. I stopped a step away from Moses. The boys continued their conversation, but I shared Moses's silence as he continued to inspect. We shared a look for less than a millisecond.

"Shit."

The creature dove for the ground and the tension turned into a sickening fragrance now. I strangled a gasp as whines and protests from the dog could be heard, a horrible crunching noise followed. All that remained was the stillness, not to mention the heavy breaths. I moved back again, only to have Dennis push into me, "Pogo! Pogo!" He yelled out in grief. I held him back, as did Moses and the boys. But soon everything went quiet, Dennis no longer struggled.

"It's coming," Moses finally spoke up, or at least, that's what I chose to hear. I stood still and for a few seconds. We were in the eye of the hurricane; far too in the mess to escape. I waited for any source of movement, a warning or whatever. I stepped back, hit against Jerome who shared the same fear in his eyes. I supposed we were all too enchanted in the scene before us. I was scared endlessly, but I was the first to react, surprisingly, "We've got to..." I started but stopped as a bioluminescent glow came into view.

"I can see its eyes!"

"Not sure them things is eyes." Moses answered, and I took in his posture as somewhat deciding against fighting against whatever was to come, or to completely bolt the fuck out of there. I chose the latter, wanted nothing to do with the outcome. I knew the end would be nothing short on disastrous.

"Teeth." I nodded towards it, the boys glanced at me, as if noticing me for the first time, "Th-those are teeth." I stuttered out, almost in a whisper.

As if on cue, the creature shrieked in alert and we all jumped, reflexes kicked us hard in the face. Jerome grabbed my arm, and we ran to his bike. He pushed me to get on the back, the boys around us acted with the same desperation.

We rushed away, hearts hammering with adrenaline.

* * *

**A/N**: '_Hellhounds are called __**The Bearer of Death**__ because they were supposedly created by ancient demons to serve as heralds of death. According to legend seeing one leads to a person's death, sometimes it is said to be once, other times it is three times in order for the curse to take effect and kill the victim, these factors make the hellhound a feared symbol and worthy of the name Bearer of Death.' – Wikipedia. _

Isn't it disturbing when we have dreams that aren't only scary, but completely irrational too? I'm not sure if this has happened to anyone, but some dreams tend to manifest in real life…just not in the way we hope or even understand. If we could interpret hidden meanings, couldn't it be possible to connect certain events to dreams? It'd be awesome, that's for sure. In case you think this story will be mixed with mythology or anything bordering religion, it won't.


	3. three: Foolish

Disclaimer: I do **not** own Attack the Block or any of the characters, its plot, or anything involving said movie; it all belongs to the amazing Joe Cornish. I do, however, own my OC Alexandra. Word.

* * *

Miraculously, we made it past the park's entrance gates with altered breaths. The dismal of our present situation was noteworthy enough, but nobody mentioned a word of it, just registered quickened glances between each other and passed around rushed words; either, "hurry the fuck up," or, "oh shit, oh shit," as we peddled away in a ragged formation towards the block's main entry.

A nuisance presented itself as we were half-way down the street. A blue radiance hit against the dimmed orange glow on the asphalt and the small houses next to the park. String of curses trailed out and I followed suit as I watched Jerome cover his face. I pulled up my hoodie and brought the thin, pale scarf to my lips, feeling too much like a delinquent for my taste. I instantly wondered why the police chased behind us, or rather them, but ignored it as far more trivial manners were at hand. I knew of the boys' whereabouts and certain behaviors, but hell, I wouldn't be one to judge, since I've had my share of improprieties. Even as that had been one of my reasons as to push away from them, it was rather unfair from my part to critique them on that. Those were just baseless accusations and I honestly wasn't that sort of person anymore.

In slow stricken minutes we made it safely on to the walkway and cut away from the police van that persecuted us. Jerome stopped his pedaling, both feet on the ground to allow balance, waited for me to get off. I thanked him and we joined the other boys who were huddled behind the elevated walkway, the walls helped hide us.

Always so damn impulsive in his actions, Pest stood up despite the police van on the street, I could see he's rather undignified, "Fuck the five-o!" He yelled. I instantly grimaced at his poorly chosen actions but said nothing. Dennis pulled him down, chided him and Jerome piped up too, told the boy to calm down. I watched as Moses is held down by the two cops and wonder if all that force was really necessary.

I breathed air of content relief as I finally spotted Biggz as he ran our way. He crouched next to me, one hand on my shoulder and the other on the wall to keep his equilibrium steady. He was too preoccupied protruding over the wall though and I took a look too. They had Moses cuffed and off the ground now. The cops inspected him, too busy on him to worry about us. We were majority against the two, either way. I watched as one of them picked a rectangular object from Moses' sock. Confused, I inquired, "He's dealing?" Of course he was, what a stupid question to ask. It didn't surprise me when nobody answered, "It's just weed, right?" That's what I hoped for at least.

"Hi-hatz's coke, Alex." Biggz answered me, too focused on his friend who was taken away. I thought maybe it was more on the fact that one of those shadows could pop up any second now. What were those things, anyway?

"Fuckers…" Something caught my eye, and I'm instantly on alert, "there, Biggz...over there." I pointed out the creature; the warm eyed boy is too late to see as the creature blended back into the shadows. He nodded however, still watching around for it. Moses is led by one officer into the van, and a small, petite girl is rushed to seat in the front, simultaneously. I recognized her from somewhere...

"Behind the cars now, check it!" Dennis pointed towards the looming shadow, and surely enough there it is. That abnormal thing moved across the sidewalk, a bit smaller from the one we saw before. Something else caught my attention, over on the roof and I nudged Biggz, pointed towards it, "The roof fam, clock that roof!" He breathed out, a mixture of fear and excitement in his voice.

A few words were exchanged between the two cops, unrecognizable though. The woman stared up at us, but she quickly looked out the window and behind. Only a few seconds left, not long to tremble away and hide. I gasped as the creature jumped to bite at the officer, it broke his neck instantly. The living thing on the roof is now on the road, it rushed to the second cop, teeth dug into flesh, and blood spluttered everywhere, "Oh shit." The tension rose once again, in a blink of an eye the shadow jumped on the van's roof, claws sunk into it.

"Fuck that, bro! I ain't goin' nowhere near none of that!" Jerome stressed out besides me, his breathing strenuous. I struggled to get on my knees, searched around for something to work with. I spotted the fireworks in Pest's bag, he caught my gaze, same idea rushed to his head, "Think fam. Think what scared the little one." He elaborated, but Dennis countered it, "Bangers ain't gonna do nothing!"

I leaned back against the other wall, and Biggz followed, crouched at my side, "Go inside, to your flat, you'll be safer," Jerome nodded his head in agreement. "You'll just hold us back, Alex, trust. Get to your flat, spread the word," I ignored Dennis, who was helping Pest light up the huge Roman candle. I blinked, not able to retort in the way I wanted to, I shook my head, decided not to go against it, "Get Moses, alright? Get back to the block safely; my uncle has a gun, y'know," I got on my knees, readied myself to start running.

Pest threw the explosive ten-shot Roman candle and I wondered for a second if it would really work.

I settled a hand on Biggz's shoulder to keep equilibrium, a bit shaken up, "Promise." I interjected his dazed look. He gulped, and I contemplated dragging him along with me, but he was with the boys, they would protect him…right?

"…sure thing, love." A light, uneasy grin lit up his face, the corners of his lips tilted as they did when he smiled. I can see something in his eyes, fear…or something along fear, regret? I lost no time however, kissed his cheek instead and quickly rushed off towards the entrance. At the same moment, the explosives went off in a delirious glow of multi-colored sparks.

Goddamn it, I should have told him to follow me.

* * *

I made it to the 4th floor, hit the light and ran full speed to my flat's door. The silence of the hall was upsetting enough, it was empty and the itching silence terrified me to no end. I struggled with jutting the key into the keyhole, my hands trembled considerably. I knew nobody would be there to question my noticeably nervous tantric. Surely my uncle had taken my aunt to a nearby diner, to distract her for a few hours. All that so I could get a few hours of sleep, so I could eat, y'know, the normal stuff. But no, this situation called for differing measures and I had to hurry before the boys came back.

The door was locked the door behind me as soon as I managed to get myself inside the flat. I made it to the living room where a note with rather huge letters sat near a cup. "Get the hell out of my home before I get there. We'll be back around 11" I snickered, which frightened me a bit. I imagined my aunt as she uttered the written sentence, it was so like her. I discarded the note on the couch and hurried off to my guardians' room.

My uncle kept a pistol under the bed, for pure safety purposes according to him. I knew it was because he mostly missed his days as a cop, my aunt used to say he kept it around to kill me. She'd say it jokingly, but it sure as hell freaked me out. Touching the metal box, I dragged it towards me and finally placed it on top of the bed. I dug even deeper to find the biggest box. _That_ one was the price; it contained his double rifle hunting gun. My fingers graced against it, I reached even further in, getting my hand to yank it out entirely. I placed it on the bed too. I opened up both boxes, got the small revolver out, and found the required bullets for it.

My mind instantly reeled in, "A bag, I need a bag."

As the adrenaline rush calmed down to nothing, the few things I managed to feel were fear and that damn headache again. I brushed it off momentarily; I needed to find somewhere to put all these weapons.

I exited my uncle's room and ran to my own. I knew I kept a duffel bag on the closet, from the first time my aunt kicked me out. I searched the contents, between various drawing pads and notebooks, under a few boxes of clothes, but no luck whatsoever. I trudged to my bed, hoped to have better luck there. I kneeled besides the bed and the headache hit full force, made me stumble for a while. I leant against the mattress for a few seconds, hoped to calm down the urge to expulse all contents from my stomach. I shouldn't have drunk and smoked simultaneously before, it was a horrible combination. Who was I kidding? My stomach was way too sensitive for anything too strong.

My head reeled to the only thing that seemed to calm me…but no, this wasn't the time to think about stuff, or old relationships, above all else it wasn't appropriate for me to be thinking back on things that didn't involve finding that damn duffel bag. The preoccupation haunted me, but I knew the boys would be alright. I'd text Tia later on, but I figured surely someone had done that already.

Fuck, I was getting distracted.

My fingertips met against a familiar material and I instantly clutched it. With the duffel bag found, and the useful guns in the other room, I was set to head on down. Hell, if Biggz hadn't asked me to get inside I wouldn't be here otherwise; that boy knew just how to get under my skin. Biggz…yeah, right, he was Brian, and he always would be to me. I should have stayed with him, what if something happened to him? Tia would be furious. She'd show her sadness through foul temper and just downright avoid everyone until she felt it she could be her old self again.

I took a seat on the bed briefly, left the bag next to me. The dizziness dragged me down, made my stomach flip wildly. My body felt hot suddenly. Droplets of sweat formed on my forehead and neck, god what the fuck was happening to me? It felt familiar to when my blood pressure dropped, but the dizziness turned my vision into a gray blob over my eyes, I could not see a thing. A sense of profound worry overcame me, and I felt as my throat burned up. I groaned, _now_ it was recognizable. I doubled over and expulsed all my agonies, the same ones I had drowned in alcohol and weed. They scampered back to me, crashed up my throat in waves. Fuck...it left a bitter taste and vomit on my floor.

I hated feeling like this. It was an anguish best described as pure vulnerability, and a sensation of being fresh prey out in the open and awaiting the attack of the predator at any second. The several last minutes caught up to me with incredible force. I just watched two cops get mauled to death by strange, unknown monsters that probably popped out of that strange coal rock. A rock that came out of nowhere! And the bones crunched as the neck of one of the cops was being tilted in a direction it shouldn't be. There was blood and it spluttered everywhere. In a matter of seconds they lost their lives. They died.

I wiped at my mouth, sat on the bed tired and finally let the tears flow. I was scared, I was worried, my head pounded, my legs hurt, and my body ached. Anyone of us could die and I was going to get bitched at for not cleaning up the vomit. We could die! My breaths quickened. And all the fear and survival instinct hit me hard on the face. The adrenaline melted away and I was left with emptiness…not to mention the anxiety. There was nothing that could cure me now; I needed Biggz to be okay. I needed all of them to be okay.

I could stay inside and let the entire situation blow over…but what if something happened? What if I could prevent any unwanted events from occurring? I could help out, I had weapons, far better than the ones I saw the boys carrying around. They didn't even know what they were truly up against. Those unknown beasts could potentially injure someone, just as easily as they had killed those two cops.

I wiped at my tears and grabbed the bag. I needed to ready myself to fight against anything that threatened my life and my friends. I couldn't let this bring me down now. Cowardice was something I relied on back when I let stupidity take over what I knew was the right choice. It was my chance to change things and surely I could do it.

As I stood up, something felt rather heavy inside the bag. I opened up the zipper to discard whatever stuff I had shoved in there. It was a small box and the contents inside had dropped inside the duffel bag. I quickly clutched fistfuls of pages, thought it had been old notes from school that I kept around and had forgotten to throw out. It wasn't.

The pages were what caught my attention undeniably, it wasn't my writing, and this one was way neater than mine. There were several letters bunched and stapled together, organized by date, the months trailing after one another. I remembered now, it had been those 4 months, the ones that had followed after those years of kept friendship. It had boiled down to necessity from my part, but maybe I just needed an excuse to break apart.

Besides the letters, there were a few photographs, and a flower that had dried up long ago (all written by that clear-eyed boy). I guess there was no denying it now. Brian and I, though that term was forbidden topic for some reason, we had been something more than friends several months back. I don't even recall anymore, though he had been one of the few good things between all the shit that happened this year.

I'd taken everything from him, his innocence and trust, above all. He was the type to never smoke, to never drink and I dragged him into it all, (Hell, he was only 14). We smoked weed together, we made out all the time, he went against his mother because of me, we had sex, we got drunk, we skipped class; Just The Two of Us (That was written on the lid of the box, by the way). And I made him fall in love with me. Then I broke his heart. I was his first in many things and I fucked it up. It was my entire fault.

And the boys disliked me now. Sure, I mean, Pest saw this all coming, constantly argued with me and said things he shouldn't. I hated him for it, because partly I knew it was true. Secretly, I stayed around just to spite him. He predicted what was to come; various times he told the guys loud and obvious that I would be trailing back to my ex, Augustine. I did just that. Pest hated me even more, Jerome barely talked to me, and Moses too, and Dennis didn't even look at me. Biggz was the one to kill me with guilt, not with words; he couldn't even manage to hate me. He looked at me every day with hope in his eyes, and he smiled and talked to me as though nothing had happened.

I hated myself even more for that, because he stared at me with hope. I would have preferred it if he hated me, especially as I further entwined with Augustine, when he broke my heart, when I took him back again. Biggz still had feelings for me. He had written to me in one of the letters that I shouldn't lose hope and I found a whole new side to him. That side of him had been there all along, I was just too stupid to see it. His whole name is Brian Landon, if you're curious. He used to tell me he loved it when I called him Brian, made him feel real. Or fuck it all, he'd said so many things. I was too deaf.

And I fucked it up. Things got worse, those MONSTERS would kill us all and I wouldn't be able to tell him how I felt. I wouldn't be able to apologize to him for pushing aside my hope.

I gulped down guilt, covered my face, completely ashamed…"I'm sorry, Brian." I muttered to the sweet air, because honestly that's all that was left to do. This was probably some invasion and we'd all die anyway. What else could I do? Nothing.


	4. four: Saturnine

Disclaimer: I do **not** own Attack the Block or any of the characters, its plot, or anything involving said movie; it all belong to the amazing Joe Cornish. I do, however, own my OC Alexandra and newly added OC, Ezra Roy.

* * *

_Never heard what was said  
All nerve ends are dead  
Tinnitus ringin' in my head  
Save and freeze up our tears_  
_Catalog all our fears_  
_Give into the stretching years._

- Local H

* * *

I was now out of that depressive state of mind and managed to get my computer up and running. It was a Windows 2000, and basically the only thing my sister, Georgina managed to afford back when she still around. She moved out 3 years ago with her girlfriend, Greta. She had saved up enough money to get her own apartment and her own furniture and her own life. I hadn't heard from her in a long while.

At least she left behind this computer, it served rather useful right now. My own tension made me jumpy and far from assertive. I couldn't get the cables on the CPU correctly and had to give it a few tries. I got that done and waited until everything was fully loaded. Damn me, I was extremely nervous. The sounds outside didn't help.

I didn't realize one of the windows in the flat was open until horrible strings of screeches reached my range of hearing. Sure, the sound wasn't nearly as loud and I assumed the proximity of those beasts had reached the parking lot of the block. Those things were undoubtedly sordid and apparently loud noises bothered them, seeing as how the Roman candle Pest threw at them had intensified their screeches.

I hadn't gotten a good look at them, and couldn't really tell if there was a way to terminate them wholly. I was about to figure that one out once I got Internet Explorer to open, my internet connection was absolutely atrocious. The previously set configuration to one of the chat programs logged me in automatically and as soon as it did, a familiar screen name sent me a message.

It was from a classmate of mine, whom I had not seen in a few months, Ezra Roy. He seemed caught up to the news and asked what had happened; said two cops and 1 civilian were found completely mangled near where I lived. A local news station had probably already gotten a hold of a police transmission channel. Or someone had called them up, typical, and the little amount of time it took for them to be informed impressed me. I was in a shit load of trouble.

I quickly replied, told him I hadn't heard a thing about the deaths of those cops, but that I had heard there was some weird shit going on. I proceeded to warn him, and told him to stay away from these parts, especially the park. He easily complied, in a way too remote and equally tranquil for him, which just screamed he was itching to see things for himself.

If he knew what he was getting himself into, he wouldn't dare venture here, but I knew him and I knew his sick attraction to all things macabre and mysterious. I really hoped he wasn't that foolish.

Ezra Roy was an old acquaintance, back when I went to school outside of Brixton. I took a 30 minute bus there and would, from time to time, see Ezra huddled up against a window. The boy had that certain aura, hidden below friendly smiles and cheery laughter. He always read books by Brian Keene, Jack Ketchum, Stephen King, Allan Poe, H.P. Lovecraft and his all time favorite author, Richard Matheson.

He was extremely extraverted and every trait describing such was right on dot with how he acted. There was always a smile on his face, he always socialized and he had that natural gift of being able to talk to anyone about anything. The guy was like the epitome of interaction, gregarious seemed to be his middle name. He was slightly older than me, 19 years old and probably ended high school already.

One distinguishable trait about that certain boy, nobody dared to interrupt him when he was reading.  
LiverOil615 (Ezra): Hey! Is the bear thing true?  
Fire Reigns (Alex): I saw them, they were huge  
LiverOil615 (Ezra): Mutants?  
Fire Reigns (Alex): Don't know if I was high or just couldn't see from the darkness. They have huge teeth and are pitch black.  
LiverOil615 (Ezra): Yeah, the cops ain't doing anything. Aren't gonna, either. Some veterinarian tried to sleep one of those things and it completely ate the guy's face off. I got photos from a friend that lives there.  
Fire Reigns (Alex): So, everyone knows?  
LiverOil615 (Ezra): the opposite, there isn't any news coverage on the tellie, just on crappy online webs; two went down for maintenance 10 minutes ago. I've got photos, like, real life photos and Marcus has video footage. Marcus is with the guys from the news station; the police confiscated their videos and practically kicked them out of there.  
Fire Reigns (Alex): I have to go, I'll update you later.

I distracted myself from the computer as my phone vibrated in my pocket. It was a text message from Jerome, said they had gotten Moses out of the van and that familiar petite girl too. Apparently, they were headed back to the building and said to meet them at the entrance. I replied with a short, 'ok' and got up to get ready. I wouldn't be able to research since I did not have the time. I'd do that later, however.

The first time I broke up with my ex-boyfriend Sebastian, Jerome had been there for me. I wasn't particularly friends with Dimples, Dionne, and Gloria at that certain time so I had nobody to turn to. The cause of that had been my growing stupidity 2 years before and I suppose the friendship sort of broke apart after several events. Tia had been the one to not let her pride cloud her judgment and she instantly forgave, it hadn't been the same for the rest of the girls. It had been through Tia that I met Biggz, she babysat him when he was younger as a favor for her aunt and we got along great back then, as non-hormonal, sweet children.

Anyways, Jerome, Dionne and I went to the same school and since we all lived on the block, we occasionally walked back from there. I met the rest of the guys when I hung out with Jerome and I guess that's the way Biggz met them too. It had been on my second break up with Sebastian that I dated Biggz, this had been fully supported by Jerome and Tia…and well, Pest and Dennis did and still don't like me for some reason. When I broke up with him, all formed friendship with Jerome had gone down the hill from there. I guess he didn't understand the reasons behind my action. Pest and Dennis probably got to his head. I couldn't blame them, I wouldn't trust me, either.

Jerome and I had an in-depth conversation that involved certain things that happened and with that I decided it was best to break things off with Biggz before I did something stupid, or things that categorized as even more stupid than the stuff I had already done. The point of the conversation wasn't pointed towards me breaking up with him, but I knew that's what had to be done. With that on track my reputation got completely butchered. I had been falsely accused of sleeping around with Sebastian when I was with Biggz, which is something that didn't happen. I supposed it seemed that way since I occasionally talked to that prick but it wasn't like that…I wouldn't do that.

Those are just some small details on the last 2 years of my life, nothing but a small portion of it all. I had been so stupid. I made idiotic mistakes, hurt the people I shouldn't have, detached myself from familiarities that I was actually comfortable with and all for what? For Sebastian and for people I thought were my friends. My best friend, Alice, or at least, she had been my best friend; she left me off to the side as soon as Sebastian hooked up with her.

The point of that was, I knew deep down Jerome understood me and didn't completely hate me. He understood why I did things, and probably would have done the same. I'm the one that brought this on and I felt gratitude towards him for he trusted me with the current happenings. Above all, I felt relieved that he would text me, and felt as though things cleared up considerably, even if we were stuck on this never ending mess.

* * *

I made it to the entrance long ago, with the gun in the duffel bag, a first aid kit and a flashlight. The rifle was out of question since I couldn't find any bullets for it. My uncle probably got rid of those since he didn't go hunting anymore. He would go hunting constantly with his work buddies during wintertime and ever since he quit his job he'd gone through a withdrawal stage. He withdrew from old activities, even stopped smoking for a while.

Getting back to topic, it had been 20 long minutes of waiting for the boys to arrive. Time crushed at me with its tender mockery, and seconds passed by too damn slow. I checked the time and it only worked to disappoint me as the minutes were fixated on dominating the clock with its dull presence. On more than one occasion I considered going outside just to calm my anxiety, but I heard those awful screeches and I immediately chickened out.

I sat near the elevator, on the wall that marked the hall that lead straight to the stairs. I placed the bag next to me and considered trying some breathing exercises, just to pass the time. I didn't know what plan I could elaborate, just to be on the safe side. Now considering it all, it probably wasn't even an option. Everything was just so fucked up. My emotions hung from a thin wire and another dramatic event would send me over the edge.

5 more minutes dragged by and I wondered if Jerome meant I had to be in this entrance or the back entrance. I rechecked the message. It had to be here, they were probably running late as it was. I mean, they saved Moses, but at what cost? They had either freed themselves from those things or they fled, tried to save their asses by running away.

I sent Ezra a text, told him I knew what he was doing and that he'd just get in trouble. He responded rather quickly, said he was already in the scene of the murder, where few people had gathered. 'I brought back-up,' I wasn't entirely sure what he meant by that.

I shoved the cellphone back into my pocket. The silence always followed me, encrusted deep in my surroundings, everywhere instead my terribly loud mind. I was enthralled in thoughts when suddenly… the brisk sound followed by deep breathes shocked me. I leaped as the door opened and glanced from where I sat, fully startled. It was a girl, that one girl from the van! She looked at me warily and ran to the elevator though, uttered absolutely nothing. Why weren't the guys with her? Why did she seem so afraid? I wondered if she knew.

I shook the feelings of hopelessness aside and concentrated on the door as it finally closed on its own. I could call Jerome or one of the guys, but what if he was running from those things? I couldn't take that risk and decided to wait on a bit more. If it came down to it, I'd go against my cowardice and find them.

They could not be far from here, and either way, I had a gun. Even if I didn't know how to shoot or if I had horrible aim. Maybe the sound would scare those things off. Hell, whatever.

It wasn't even a few seconds later that the sound of motorcycles reached me and I flinched away from my nervous fear of inaction. I jumped to my feet and rushed to the door. I could see Moses on a small motorcycle, and Dennis followed right behind him. I opened the door wide for them, Moses gave me a look though, and pushed me inside, "Go." I merely nodded and did as I was told, headed towards the elevator.

Dennis' ped soon crashed against the wall, he hopped over the bike and pressed furiously at the elevator buttons like a wild man. I watched as he muttered anxiously under his breath.

"Stairs blood!" Moses instructed, as he saw the elevators wouldn't cooperate. Dennis rushed to the door, wasting no time. His hand trembled and was posed near the katana on his back. Waiting.

I breathed a sigh as I saw Jerome pedaling on his BMX. Moses held the door open and the plump boy wheeled inside, got off the bike and discarded it as if nothing. Okay, that just meant we needed two more people, it wouldn't take them that long. Curiosity got the best of me, and just as I was about to ask, Dennis beat me to it, "Where's Biggz at, where's Pest?!" He questioned, desperate, watched the long hall outside, to see if anyone else arrived.

Not long after that, we heard running. It was Pest, I looked hopeful towards him, hoped to see Biggz with him. Pest ran towards us, _alone_, eyes wide and fearful. It all seemed to happen in slow motion. His feet pounded hard on the concrete ground, his arms moved back and forth to accelerate his steps, the way his neck craned to the side to see behind him. And there it was, bigger now that it was headed straight for us, that black shadow was horrendous. Its bioluminescent teeth snapped in a pattern with each step, as if it savored the taste of tearing the boy limb by limb…

Fear reached me, my heart beat raced, "holy fucking shit, hurry up!" I yelled, the boys seemed to do the same, and opened the door for him. He made it on time, tripped once and stood just as quickly. His bat fell to the ground from the hard impact. My blood turned cold as the beast collided against the door, broke into the wood and glass. I yelped in surprise, words failed to formulate. I honestly did not expect such brute force. No veil, with its jaw through the door, the thing jabbed its teeth into Pest's leg, and bit firmly. The boy bawled in desperation and I rushed to get the bat, beat it against the monster's head, "Goddamn it!" The boys had backed away, not now, damn it! "A bit of help would be nice!" I hissed, frustrated by their lack of function.

That damn thing wouldn't let go, and Pest cried out and my arms felt heavy and all I wanted to do was curl into a ball and bawl my eyes out. Moses finally grabbed the bat from me and hit the thing with much vigor than I could ever manage. I was too shaky, too edgy. The sight of all the blood made me feel uneasy. Something crunched and I wasn't sure if it had been Pest's bone or the creature's head. The thing wailed and let go, turned back and ran off down the hall. I watched after it, confounded.

The boys lost no time and pulled Pest back, who bellowed in utter pain. The wound looked dreadful; it left a trail of blood on the ground as they dragged him away. I detained myself from following them. Distress bit at me, an unwanted feeling of helplessness stuck to my throat and my tears wanted to escape. Biggz…he had promised me! A screech hit against my ears and I saw that same shadow as it galloped back to the door. He's wasn't coming back. I cursed several times at that and rushed after the boys. I took the bag from the ground as I headed for the stairs, where they still heaved Pest. I wanted to go back despite the creature, but Moses stopped me in time, grabbed my arm. We both saw and heard the door splinting open and he tugged me along as he followed the set of screams.

No, no…I had to get to Brian, why couldn't he understand? "Biggz," I mumbled, tried to get away but he held on tighter, shook his head firmly, "Quit fretting, we'll bell him later." I don't say anything to that, and sorrow seeped in. "Think _rationally_, Alexia," Biggz would probably say to me.

Fuck, I listened for once.

* * *

**A/N: ** My sincerest thanks to **HoneyGee08 **for leaving reviews on the last 2 chapters and that one anonymous review left on the first chapter. (:

Interesting mythology: The **barghest**. '_The barghest was a malevolent spirit which did not hesitate to attack unwary victims. Any poor soul that attempted to approach it or pass in front of it would be savagely attacked. Should the victim survive, the injuries inflicted would never heal, a testament to the hound's power. In an interesting take on the old adage, the barghest was a hound whose bark was as deadly as its bite. Much like the banshee of Ireland, the howl of the barghest was said to be an omen of death. Only those fated to die could hear its dismal roaring, a quick demise coming shortly after._' From: Manic Expression.


	5. five: Menace

Disclaimer: I do **not** own Attack the Block or any of the characters, its plot, or anything involving said movie; it all belong to the amazing Joe Cornish. I do, however, own my OC Alexandra and Ezra Roy.

* * *

_Let's see what you do with the rest of your days,  
You had it all and you gave some away.  
It's not going to matter when you're dead and gone  
You'll be remembered for the good that you've done.  
So quit thinking. Now's the time._

-The Descendents

* * *

You don't truly know a person until you have to drag them through a flight of stairs, with a nasty bite wound on their leg. Their eyes are filled with tears of pain, and not even that certain boy's closest friends managed to calm down the urge to vomit from the awful, scrutinizing ache. I'd never seen Pest cry, or even saw him remotely sad and it scared me profoundly. The guys were turned into these people I couldn't even imagine. They were concentrated on getting their friend away, serious and with such…defiance in their look.

Once we reached the first floor, as we turned the corner to the hallway, a visible figure loomed near a door. It was that girl again, I knew I recognized her from somewhere. Before when she passed rather close to me, I hadn't been able to get a good glance at her face and now that I did…it was Sam! I talked to her once, a long while back when she first moved her, how could I forget so easily? I didn't realize the boys ran to her until I heard their yells and hers as she yelped in fear. I hurried towards them to catch up, maybe I could lighten up the situation?

She cried out, tried to get the door closed, and gave up as the boys pushed against her feeble lack of strength. I knew exactly how this looked, and I was set on explaining but she ran to her room as soon as we rushed in. We settled into her flat. I felt terribly uneasy, not sure what to do. I knew it seemed as though we were going to hurt her...or something. Shit, I hoped it didn't look that way.

I approached the door as the boys sat Pest down on the couch. I knocked once, "Sam?" But there was no response. I shook my head, I had no time to deal with this now, and I had to call Biggz. I slid the cellphone from my pocket and dialed his number, hastened. I only had 4 minutes worth of credit, but it had to serve for something. It had to be enough. It went through, the tone droned, then it dropped, the line was busy. No worry, I redialed. The call went through…4 tones…no answer, it went straight to voicemail. I didn't need to _worry_, I redialed, **no answer**. I redialed again, crouched near the coffee stand and pressed firmly against the redial over and over again, "Shit…shit." My hand was wet with tears. He was dead, damn it, that's why he didn't answer. Something had happened to him. Why him? Why?

I glanced upwards to see if anyone had had any luck, though the boys seemed preoccupied with their own cellphones. I sighed out shakily, worried, and sobbed involuntarily now; all anguish crawled back to me. I fully kneeled on the ground, my duffel bag fell besides me and I redialed over and over, once more. The line refused to pull through. I doubted he had his phone off, he never turned it off. It wasn't like him.

Moses's voice muted my sobs, "Someone text Biggz." He stated in a firm voice. I smelled the sweet fragrance of cherries that came from a candle in one of the counters. Sam liked candles, who would've thought. I wiped the tears, my nasal clogged instantly. The quiet boy walked towards me and helped me up. He guided me to a single couch and instructed me to sit. Jerome said something, but all voices sounded the same. They held that distinct eagerness or…desperation maybe. Moses was the only one who seemed composed. He passed me some tissues.

"There's a first-aid kit in my bag." I struggled out, as I heard Pest's pained moans in front of me. Moses nodded, and went for the bag when _briskly_ we were interrupted. The door to Sam's room opened with a bang, "Get out of my fucking flat!" She shouted, angrily, and with a guitar on her hands as though she were wielding a sword.

"No, Sam..." I attempted to stand, but Moses pushed me back.

"I said get out!" She continued.

"Yo snitch, calm yourself. This ain't about you no more, get me?" Moses stated. He calmly carried on towards my duffel bag and pushed it towards Jerome.

"If you come anywhere near me, I swear I'll scream this fucking block down!"

I laughed, which seemed more like a sob than anything. I was perplexed between wanting to explain or yell at her to understand the severity of this situation. This was no time to act like that. I texted Biggz to distract myself, finally managed to stop the tears. I knew he'd reply soon enough. I read the missed text from Ezra, who asked if I was okay, said 'weird shit is happening, can't get in the building'.

"There's worse things out there to be scared of than us tonight, trust." Jerome pointed out; he took out the first-aid kit and closed the bag, and handed it back to me. I thanked him and turned towards Sam, who seemed to be about to pass out or kill us all. I guessed it was the latter. Of course, we invaded her personal space; it was only natural of her.

"There are monsters out there, Sam. Please, understand." I reasoned, understood that she hadn't seen what we saw. And anyway, I was telling the truth. I was hoping she would trust my word, seeing as how I hadn't done anything to betray her. She knew me. She could count on me being truthful, right?

"You, what are you doing with _them_?" She merely ushered, eyebrows furrowed. I hesitated at the way she regarded them, as if she had a personal vendetta against the boys. I didn't think she was that kind of person, to judge someone like that without knowing them first. Hell, I guess she didn't think Pest's condition was bad enough.

"That doesn't matter, you're a nurse right? You can help him!" I chirped, remembered what we had talked about long ago. At least, I thought that conversation had been with her, or else, well, screw it. Pest needed assistance and we needed all the knowledge on fixing up wounds right away. I'm sure he'd be pissed off if he had to get that leg amputated.

Dennis piped in after my words, "Trust. Bruv! I saw her ID card thingy! She's a nurse innit!" I nodded towards him and refused to look at Pest's leg, but only imagined the mess of blood it must be. The bite had been pretty awful, actually, those huge teeth as they dug into his flesh had been horrendous enough.

"Help me then," He pleaded, urgent, with agony in his voice, "I need this leg, I need it to be able to run from those things!" By the whine in his voice, I decided to act and not try to convince Sam, it would be futile at this point. I stood, took the first-aid kit from Jerome and put it on the table next to Pest, opened it up.

"You think I'm going to help you?" She said, bewildered. I huffed and stood up again, "This is NO time for this, whatever you have against them or whatever, there are lives at stake!" I raised my voice, and the room went silent for a moment.

She stared at me unbelievably, "After they attacked me, robbed me, set those dogs on the police?" I shook my head and looked pleadingly towards Moses to say something, he caught my look. I went towards the kitchen, though, to get some water or alcohol or something to clean the wounds. I could still hear them arguing in the next room. They all exchanged comments here and there, Sam's voice growing aggravated. I took a bottle of alcohol with me, gulped down some water from the tap and cleaning my face a bit. I found some cotton balls to dab the wounds with.

I made my way toward the precious and organized living room, only to find Sam and Moses in a sort of silent war. He staring firmly into her eyes, "Fix him." He commanded. The girl visibly shuddered, and sighed in frustration. She got right into action, taking the bottle of alcohol from me and the cotton. As she went to get more things, I approached the boys.

"You saved my life back there, man." Pest stated as he looked at me, gritted his teeth from the pain. I frowned and looked away, unsure of how to respond to that. He hated me and I knew things weren't going to change that easily. I stared down at my cell. I still hadn't gotten a reply from Biggz. Goddamn it, this was not the moment. Dennis snorted.

"Where's your man, love? I ain't talking about Biggz." He continued, dug in to find a way to get me to react again. This was Dennis's thing, always so precise and on the right fucking moment. I glared, I knew his game, "Fuck off, would you? And he's not my boyfriend."

"'Course not, just like Biggz wasn't. You play 'em and leave them, y'know what 'm sayin'." He chuckled bitterly. I didn't answer to that. It goddamn hurt if he put it like that, and anyway, that hadn't been the case. I hadn't played Biggz, I wasn't that sort of person. It wasn't my intention… My eyes watered in realization that maybe Biggz _felt_ like I had done that, and quite obviously, if Dennis thought that, Biggz would too. I made such a mess of things.

"Yo, now's not the time for bullshit, man. Drop it." Moses walked towards Sam's room to see what was taking her so long, and Dennis mentioned no more, didn't even look at me as per usual. Chin on hand, and cellphone on the other, I stared attentively out the darkness of the window, too ashamed to look at the boys.

"He's gonna be fine." I felt a hand on my shoulder, and I glanced towards Jerome, who mumbled quietly, a slight smile on his lips. I hoped so too.

* * *

With the gashes wrapped tightly in bandages and a cushion, the boys seemed to be extra annoyed. A few words were exchanged, in an escalated argument. I couldn't be bothered with their conversation. I fiddled with my cellphone, no more credit left, having spent them all during my attempt to call Biggz. The calls went straight to voicemail, or droned in that repetitive deep beep.

However, I received two messages from Ezra. One text with multiple questions marks and exclamation marks; that were probably directed towards my lack of response, and the other one held a rather direct notion that he would be 'rebelling against the system and going straight into the building with back-up' (his own words). I just hoped he had been smart enough to bring weapons. I mean, even if I had credit, I'd call him and tell him it was dangerous, but the boy would take that as a challenge.

This night just couldn't get any worse. Extremely distracted on thoughts, as usual, what brought me back to reality was the sudden "thump" on the door, and for a second the sudden thought of it being Biggz made me content. We all jumped to our feet. But I knew it wasn't him, another loud noise was heard soon after. How exactly would he know where we were? It could be Ezra, but how would be know too? I gulped in sudden fear.

"Fam, stay." Moses grabbed the bat from Dennis. He was always the first that reacted and managed to shake out any fear or maybe it was that same fear that pushed him on. He was a true leader. He seemed so calm and composed, driven by the need to protect his friends. I shared a look with Jerome and walked towards him, my duffel bag clutched tightly. I watched as Moses crept to the door, he tipped up his cap so it wouldn't obstruct as he peered into the peephole.

The tension rose, seconds trespassed and too soon, we all jumped up again as Moses leaped back towards the wall with a thump, taken by surprise. The screech of that hideous beast followed soon after and we all got into a defensive position. Moses moved to the living room again and closed the hall door hoping to gain some time with that. I wished to fuck it would, there was no other way to get out of here.

Jerome stared around implausibly, "How could they find us? There's like 160 doors in this block!" I had to admit I was shocked by that fact too. I slung the bag over my shoulder as I crept to lean against the wall, frightened. That sense of adrenaline rushed back to me. It made my head a bit fuzzy. Sam had her guitar over her head, "Listen, whatever kind of gang war bullshit you're involved in, just leave me out of it, please."

The front door seized to exist in a thunderous beat. Sam and I yelped at the same time, the boys jumped to the safety of empty space. "Hey, this ain't got nothing to do with gangs," Dennis dismissed, shook hi s head as if that would validate Sam's theory as a failure. He looked from Sam to the door. As if on a rush, Pest spoke after him, nervous as fuck, "Or drugs. Or rap music. Or violence in video games." Labored breathing followed that, Sam's eyes fixated on the door and mine did too. I waited for that thing to get in, just to get it all over with.

My hands felt heavy as I watched towards everyone, their own bodies shook. I hated this.

"Worst night of my life." She yapped out, and clutched the guitar tightly behind Pest, who stood in front of her protectively. I repeated, this was so fucked up. We could die…just like those two cops had and nobody would be there to protect us. We only had ourselves when it came to defense and all that bullshit.

"Feeling's mutual!" Moses ushered, and I had to agree.

Seconds, fled seconds rushed in unison with the hammering beat of my heart. The blood pumped all throughout my body in strong, ardent waves. I _felt_ the large microscopic cells (cell fragments, clear liquid water, but visibly that annoying red that seemed to pop up everywhere), as they rushed through the tips of my thin veins and back to the thick arteries that circulated back to my thrashing, hollow muscular organ.

I watched in anticipation, when—

Boom! The wall burst into a million bits. That damn creature slid into the kitchen, and its claws dug deep into the tiled floor. It hit against the table, dragged with it all contents in the other room. I lost my breath, trembled from head to toe. I hadn't seen one so close before, it was horrendous. Its prodding teeth glowed like UV light, the fur had no tint, and it was a pure shade that mocked the darkness of the night. Hell, those things could be the night for all that mattered.

Nobody reacted...nobody except for Moses. He searched around for something, dropped the bat and took the katana out of Dennis's hoister. The boys yelled at him not to do it, but he rushed forward anyway, stood in front of that ugly monster. I found myself unable to move, could not talk either, it was as though my whole body was a frozen sculpture.

The monster moved forward to attack, but Moses swung down the thin sword and it easily slid into its head. The teen boy grunted as the thing fell to the ground, he dug the sword deeper, just to be safe. I stared in awe, breath hitched. We're all bewildered by the scene before us. Sam gasped loudly and moved back. That was it, he had killed that thing. Something cold washed down my spine; I couldn't quite calculate what it was.

Moses struggled to get the sword out, and once he did, he stood over the carcass, shocked and maybe just a bit confused. I knew I was. That thing was no hound, or anything I've ever seen before. There was no actual way to describe it properly.

I inch closer to where the beast laid dead, the boys already huddled over it to see for themselves. My ears still rang with deafening silence, and my body, if I wasn't careful enough I might just tip over. "That's the blackest black ever, fam," Dennis moved forward to touch it, but Moses instantly blocked his action momentarily, and they shared a look. Dennis acknowledged his gesture and got closer cautiously. His fingers dug into the creature's fur, "That's blacker than my cousin Femi." He mumbled.

I had already moved away from them.

I noticed Sam's figure as she stumbled out the door, I followed after her and Jerome noticed it too, "Oi, where's that woman?" I heard him question towards the others as I walked out the door. I'm a few steps down the corridor, where I see the woman rushed off to. I'm too fearful to move any more than that, despite my impulse. The lights turned off behind her, above me. She turned back to me, but didn't stop, just kept walking.

Moses and the guys are barely trailed out. I pointed out towards the end of the hall where Sam stopped abruptly and looked back again. There's a screech, soon followed by another and I jump instinctively. I take a shaky step, "Sam..." I whisper, but my voice comes out torn and small.

She's smarter than that and soon walked back to us in a rush, scared as another screech is heard. How many of those things were out there?

* * *

We walked up the stairwell, to Tia's place, with the knowledge that there's little chance the creature can get in there seeing as how the door was fully protected with a gate. A buzz is dimly heard, and I turn to Dennis who nudged me and chuckled in triumph, "Oi, it's Biggz," I could have sworn in that moment my entire self lightened up and I felt a huge weight brush off my shoulders. I only grinned sheepishly. I rushed up to walk next to Dennis, "he's alive!" He cracked a smile and answered the call. I felt nervous all of the sudden.

"Biggz bruv! We thought you was dead bruv! Where you at?" We continued walking down the steps, tranquil but alert to my surroundings. I barely managed to hear what Biggz answered, but just knowing he was alright made my stomach flip and flutter.

"Yeah, man, she's here…Ain't that simple bruv." Dennis replied, in a way that clearly showed exasperation. We get into a hallway on one of the floors, and I stayed close to him, "Them things are in the block, bustin' through doors. You got the only credit," Moses peeked through the sliding doors. I hung on to Dennis' arm and he leaned the phone close to my ear, so that we're both able to hear, "Call everybody bruv, spread the word, tell them to stay inside, get me? I'll bell you back when we get to Tia's." We both gulped as we heard a thump and Biggz's yelp, "Fuck this, man!" And the call ended just like that. I sighed in defeat.

As we rushed into the corridor, we stumbled upon two kids, Gavin and Reginald. "Check it! Reginald and Gavin survived!" Pest spoke out in surprise, and chuckled. I pulled forward, "You two should not be here." I stated as a matter-of-fact. Both of them stared at me, Reginald a bit surprised. The boy grimaced, however, "Don't answer to them names no more. It's Probs and Mayhem." He snipped back, pointed at his friend as he stated their nicknames. I huffed.

"Fam, we saw the aliens! They ran straight past us! We got tools!" Mayhem states, as both children pulled up their "weapons". The guys chuckled at that. I could only stare in disbelief as Probs asked if they could join us. I looked back to the older boys to see if they would do anything.

Sam caught my gaze, "That's not real is it? Jesus, they look about six years old..."

"Reginald's 10," I stated. Yep, I'd had the pleasure of babysitting that boy when he was younger, as a favor for my aunt's friend, Lydia. The woman was nice enough, a single mother and she often stayed to work the solitary night shifts in a small café. She paid well, too, though I never told my aunt I was paid, it was supposed to be a favor…

"And I'm 9 and a half!" Mayhem spoke out defiantly. I motioned towards the weapon but he pulled it behind his back. A kid should not have a weapon, for fuck's sake! As I'm about to protest, Dennis bumped me aside and grabbed for Mayhem's weapon, "That ain't no toy, Gavin," He forced the weapon out of the kid's hand, "Give me that..." Both children began to fight back but Jerome stepped in to push Reginald out of the way. "This is madness," I uttered, and moved to Sam who just seemed completely confused.

"Yo. Probs and Mayhem," A deep, commanding voice suddenly spoke. Moses stepped forward and the whole hall went silent, "Go home and lock the door. Do your homework. Watch Naruto. Play Fifa. Just stay inside tonight, get me?" He pushed past them without another glance and we followed after him. The boy protested, but we were focused on our original mission now: to get to Tia's flat. I knew Gavin and Reginald wouldn't give in that easily, but as I looked back to them, they were already ran down the hall full speed. I really hoped they were headed to their homes.


	6. six: In Spite Of

Disclaimer: I do **not** own Attack the Block or any of the characters, its plot, or anything involving said movie; it all belong to the amazing Joe Cornish. I do, however, own my OC Alexandra and Ezra.

* * *

_Maybe you and me  
and our sad history, are gonna go  
and get the best of us in the end.  
And maybe _'wait and see'_ is the right way to be.  
To see if all this evil is just another fucking trend.  
Hey, hello - where'd you go?  
You disappear from time to time  
and I've been known to change my mind.  
Hey, hello - where'd you go?  
You take her up and fly her blind  
and god knows I can't change your mind._

-Local H

* * *

There was an awkward, hard stare between Dimples and I.

It had been long enough and she grew to be considerably taller than me; actually, I think everyone was taller than me. I don't know, I wasn't particularly short, but wasn't visibly tall either. I guess it was a standard sort of height, or at least I thought so. She was skinnier too, dressed in clothes that adjusted to her grown body. I was wider and fuller at the hips since I hadn't done any physical sports for a while now. Damn it, I missed her.

Back in the day when I still shared a strong friendship with these girls, Dimples and I were rather inseparable. She was my best friend; it was more like a sisterly bond (she was far more of a sister than my real sister was). While I was always my immature self, saying and doing things I shouldn't be doing, she was the first one to confront me on those sorts of things. It was her natural, strong personality and since I was always one to cave, she sort of kept me on check all the time. Kind of like my conscious, maybe?

Anyways, yes, there she was again, in front of me, and said nothing for a long while.

It sort of went like this: Dimples opened the door, gawked at all of us, and glared a bit my way before she visibly gave in. She greeted me momentarily, took me by the arm and without another look let me in, "What's up with that?" She motioned to the bag, but quickly disregarded it as Moses stepped up. She shook her head, stood in front of them to block the entrance. "You ain't bringin' all them people in here! No!" She stated firmly, looked over at them all in a single glance, her brain worked up a theory from what she saw, "They're involved in somethin'! Someone's chasin' them! They got weapons and look," She pointed at Pest's leg, motioned for Tia to take a look, "that one's bleedin'! And that woman, I don't even know that woman! I'm not gettin' myself involved in a situation I don't need to be in." She crossed her arms across her chest. I waved at Tia who was at the door now.

She gave a small sigh, "it's my house, Dimples. Come." That was simple and to the point. She let everyone in, motioned for me to stay with her as they all rushed to get inside. Dimples was not pleased, but I could tell she bit at her tongue to keep from saying something. Like I said before, she knew when to keep quiet and new exactly when to speak up. Jerome closed the steel gate in a hurry, and Dimples slammed the wooden door after him.

After we got settled in, the questions were easily invited into the casual conversation and greets. I sat uncomfortably besides Dionne on the couch's arm and greeted Gloria, she gave a miniature smile and motioned for Dennis to walk on over. I dared to turn towards the others, but managed to prevent meeting eyes with Dionne. She helped slightly, and instead continued to paint and polish her nails. There's a friendship that had died even when I still hung out with all of them. While Gloria and I were on ok terms, I knew for a fact that Dionne absolutely despised every living cell in my being. Let's just say we didn't get along and therefore prevent going back to those last 2 years.

After the interrogation, we finally convinced the girls that our troubles did not involve any type of gang or whatever. This was brimming near unmentionable levels of fucked up and no amount of words could possibly describe the emotional ride that this night had been. The boys went over what had happened, seemingly as though everyone took turns as they gave their own version of the events.

The girls laughed and mocked occasionally, and at time I interjected and they quieted down on Tia's orders. Though, Dimples did inquire her own snarky remarks, with "Didn't you quit smokin' weed?" I merely smirked to her attitude and looked away, knowing I damned well deserved that much and more from her. That did not keep my mouth shut nevertheless, and instead I replied with, "Some things never change," In a way to get her to understand…I don't even know, I just knew I had been wrong. She snorted and said nothing.

Tia sat near Moses, and treated the cuts on his face, dabbed it with alcohol and had also placed a light cream to keep it from getting infected. Everyone new Tia had a thing for Moses, and this headed back to a few years ago. Nobody knew for sure but there had been rumors of them kissing, but y'know, these two were extremely secretive and sneaky and wouldn't spill anything unless it was threatened out of them. They were perfect for each other.

Pest huffed from the window and finally sat down, mentioning something about helicopters. He'd moved to the kitchen from the bathroom, from the kitchen to the living room and like that for a while. He finally settled down. I knew the uncomfortable pain probably got to him already, the wound had been atrocious. Tia had searched around for aspirin but hadn't found any, so Sam settled on some ice instead.

I shook my head, the girls were far away from believing or story and I knew more than one of us had grown frustrated by that. Sam, who se aggravation finally slipped from her restraints, opened her mouth to retort, "Excuse me…" Tia was the only one to turn to her, and soon the older woman exploded and stood up, "Listen to me!" She yelled out, and the girls instantly stopped their laughter. I bit my lip and made my way towards the kitchen. I knew well enough they would get to arguing again.

I sat down on the counter, after I grabbed a glass of water and took a sip to wench my thirst. I felt hungry too but was afraid I would throw that up later on. Without distractions, I figured this was a good chance to see if anyone had texted me. I slid the phone from my pocket and noticed a small crack on the screen, but it still light up and I could read perfectly well. Enthusiasm rolled at the pit of my stomach as the screen displayed, '3 messages!'. I instantly read the first one, it was from my uncle, with a simple, "Answer!".

I moved to the next message, and yet again, it was from my uncle: '_Your aunt and I will be home late, going to a friend's house. Don't case any trouble. Be careful_!' My fingers trembled at that, grateful more than anything. They were away, safe from all these monsters. I sighed out and opened the next message:

From: Ezra  
_Made it to the first floor. One flat, completely torn  
And one of those huge bear things is there.  
We're taking it to the van, it smells awful!  
What the bloody hell is going on?_

Crap. I never imagined they would actually make it inside and, _they_? Of course he had brought back-up, but who else had he brought along, and exactly how many? Now I truly hoped he had brought along some weapons. I concluded, just to calm my nerves that he had, seeing as how these creatures had tore someone's face off, and mauled two officers. I thought maybe I should tell Moses and the guys that we have more people in the building, but…I was not sure. Whatever, they could deal on their own.

"Oh thank god," I murmured as I switched to the following message. It was from Biggz. My heart fluttered as I read it and re-read it several times. 'Safe. Stay wit the boys_. love you_.' I rejoiced quietly to myself, smiled and flipped my cell phone shut. It was once more, in the confines of my pocket. I've been feeling this sick, guilty relief all throughout the night and for some reason that text message made me happy, but…that guilt still clutched itself to me. I ventured back into the living room with a hollow remorse as it shoot through me at a swift rate. The eerie silence crawled in my ears and I watched everyone jump away from the window. A few glasses and plates fell to the ground with a high pitched clash.

Two more of those things were at the window, though they were barely visible as they were hidden by the thick veil of obscurity from the night. Bioluminescent teeth were in sight and just when I thought things couldn't look any worse, the light from the fireworks hit against the black fur of those things, and gave away their size. They were huge, probably the same size as the last one Moses had killed but still…was there ever going to be some proper rest for us?

Dimples yelled out and that's all it took to get us all to snap out of our trance. We fled towards the safety of the other rooms, and a series of screams measured the fear and tension as it rose in a mere heartbeat. These emotions tended to escalate rather quickly and it made me wonder if there would be any side effects later. I refused to fathom on it for much longer, as there were more important things to worry about. Gracious fuck, how many of those things were there? Were we meant to take them all down as if it were a game? When the hell were the authorities going to do something about it?

"Fuck, bruv…no." Jerome hissed from beside me. He rather concentrated on something in the living room and I turned to stare. I noticed the scene too slow, Dennis stood in front of the window with the pistol in hand, and the helmet on. I rushed forward, fumbled to get the zipper from the bag open. I knelt on the ground and finally managed to get the revolver out. My vision faltered considerable from the tears and that awful headache is back.

"You can't take two fam." Moses voice broke through the silence, and Dennis brushed it off, "Watch me." He stated, pulled on the trigger, but to no vail. It's fake, it's a fucking fake gun. The boy cursed under his breath. "Dennis!" I yelled out, he gazed at me for a moment and I throw a REAL pistol towards him. It's a scene set in nerve breaking, considerable slow motion, he caught the revolver perfectly…

It's no use.

It's no use. There was no helping it now.

The monsters broke through the window as if it were mere paper, and took Dennis down to the ground. Moses fell down to the back of the couch, cowered and shook. In the process of being pushed to the ground, Dennis let go of the damn revolver and it slid across the floor. My heart is a hammer against my chest and I crawl to the gun as quickly as I can.

"Alexa! Get back," Dimples yelled to me, but I paid no attention to her. I needed to shot that horrendous thing down and away from that boy. No other thought graced my mind and my focus was solely on that. I hurried and gripped the revolver tightly in my hand as I heard the boy cry in protest.

"Help! Help!" Dennis wailed. The creatures are having a go at him. Thankfully the helmet prevents any serious injuries, but they're getting there, their fangs are dangerous and rather huge. I knelt, my back straight and shoulder hunched in alert. My vision is faltered, those damn tears again.

I trembled, shook. The gun is in my hands now, I shoot, everyone jumps, the creatures are temporarily distracted, but I missed. Dennis yelled out for Moses, who is behind the couch, unable to do anything. I cursed loudly as one of the creatures heads my way, I shoot at it again, grazing one of its legs. It yelped and moved back, it's attention back on Dennis. "Fuck!"

His screams are in pure agony now. I felt someone as they dragged me back with them. It's Jerome. I have no time to protest, the screams stop but now a new set of screams joined the thickened air. A thump hit against the wall and I hoped to god someone had gotten those damn things. "No, no, no..:" I heard Jerome behind me. I stared straight forward, towards Dennis's immobile body. That damn thing stepped away from him…

The adrenaline surged, but I find I'm unable to move any further. It's been a repetitive motion of this feeling, utter fear and I suffered through trembling limbs all the fucking time in one night. Jerome pushed me back into the room and I'm left with nothing else to do. Pest's frozen up too, I guess he saw the same thing I did. It had to be a mistake…this couldn't be happening.

A series of screams resonated, a screech from the creature and...

Wholesome, bitter silence etched with labored breaths and tinted emotions as they rummaged through my brain. I followed after Pest, as I barely noticed the other two as they headed out the room. The silence meant safety apparently. I made it outside and see Gloria and Dionne crying in alarm. I gulped back a sob and rubbed at my eyes after having dropped the gun on the counter. Whole, bitter silence dominated.

I watched the defiance in Tia's eyes, could see the sadness and…what was that? I folded my arms across my chest and stood behind Jerome, who seemed lost.

Tia struggled out, with a voice that wasn't all that familiar to me, "You know that little one you killed before?" I could already see where this was going, "That was a mistake." She stated in a dreadful monotone to the devastated boy. He stared down at the carcass of his good friend.

"They weren't going for us. They were going for you!" Dimples uttered next, though I'm sure her words weren't the ones that dug into him. Tia opened her mouth to speak; I shook my head, "Tia..." She stared in my direction, "Don't...please," I said in a feeble attempt to stop her. She averted her gaze, "Actions have consequences you know, Moses." She ushered on.

This was not the time, and I felt the anger as it dwelled inside me, "Don't." I stated again, bravely. Both girls paid no mind. It was futile. There were no pointing fingers in a situation like, it had been awful luck. What good would come of blaming someone? Maybe it made them feel better…

"Everywhere you go bad things happen." Dimples pressed on. Those words seemed to have gone unheard by Moses. His gaze was on his friend, solely there. I wondered what he currently thought and if that involved blaming himself as the girls did. He was always so profoundly introverted. I couldn't even begin to comprehend the pain he must be going through.

"Stay away from us, Moses." That was it, Tia managed to wound him and that was all it took. A tear slid from the boy's eye, the words hitting him with full force, the dead body of his friend ate away at his guilt. Tia bumped past him, grabbed Dimples, and the girls exited the flat to get away. I glared in Tia's direction, her eyes full of regret. But it was too late to take back words.

A screech echoed from the window, and we all turned to look towards it. Here we go again. I wasted no time to get the gun from the counter and ran after the guys. Moses closed the steel gate behind me with a forceful shove.

"You should leave," Moses said to me, "I don't want no one else to die." His attention turned to Sam now, but I could see by her posture that she was rather unsure of what she should be doing. I shook my head, and wiped at the tears. I had to stay with them, and this was no occasion to be selfish. They needed help.

"Fuck that man! I got your back." Pest's loyalty to his friends shone right on out at that moment. Jerome followed his lead, "I ain't goin' nowhere. They took Dennis man. We gotta kill all them things, bruv." He turned to me though, and waited for my answer. Sam did too, as if her decision depended on mine.

"I'm not going either." I shrugged and clutched the gun in my hand. I knew what Moses would say, that I should get to Biggz, but I wasn't going to give in to that, I had to stick around with them and help, nobody else was going to die. The boys turned to Sam, who gazed at me for a moment.

Her courage piped in and she straightened her posture, "Don't look at me. We're on the same side now, right?"

* * *

**A/N**: I loved that one part where Moses gave that awesome speech as to why he thinks the monsters were sent to the block. It comes to show a lot about the world, how racism is still deeply encrusted into the minds of people, and how he is a victim to it. That particular speech demonstrates social resentment at its finest. It's sad that as I write this, children and teens all over the world have to undergo shit like that because of worthless governments, a fucked up society, and lack of action from the people that actually have the power to do something! You can't change a nation from day to night, but as long as one person is aware, it changes things drastically. We need to educate our children about these subjects and stomp down ignorance. The world is not the happy, bright place most of us think it is. There are people suffering every fucking day because of economic, political and educational corruption. ATB did an amazing job indicating those inequalities.


	7. seven: Blood and Sweat

Disclaimer: I do **not** own Attack the Block or any of the characters, its plot, or anything involving said movie; it all belong to the amazing Joe Cornish. I do, however, own my OC Alexandra and Ezra Roy.

* * *

_Dead bodies everywhere_  
_Piles of blood, entrails and hair_  
_I'm bleeding from the inside_  
_From the Armageddon outside_

_In this oblong box that's eating you_  
_There's nothing you can do_

_- _Rancid

* * *

Things didn't get any easier from here on out. The sudden tension wore off to nothing and nobody dared broach about what had just happened. I shoved the gun in my back, between my undergarment and the hem of my jeans as they do so in movies, and the current circumstances would have made me laugh if it weren't for the fact that we were all going to die.

I could already tell there would be no relief. I'm about to get a peaceful sense of serenity from the silence, when It's easily interrupted. I froze on my spot and eyed the direction the sound came from.

It was the elevator as it opened, right on cue. I cursed, thought maybe one of those things were in there, maybe they ate someone who had been in the elevator or something equally as fucked up. I concentrated this time, I would be ready. Jerome took immediate notice of the danger and everyone began to scamper away as bullets began to fly in our general direction. Several string of curses resonated through and we managed to make it to the doors. The cops…why were they shooting at us? I noticed Sam straggled as so did Pest, who held the door opened for her, "Hurry!" He urged her to run as did I.

"Come on!" He finally yelled, but the woman was too frightened. Between my anguish and my desperation, I spotted 3 men, and those bastards still shot at us. Those were no policemen, or special units, it was Hi-Hatz with 2 other men which I've never seen before. A strong screech and crash followed and the surprise silenced the bullets. Sam took this opportunity and finally ran to us.

We fled down the hall and to the stairs. I hurried even more as I heard the steel gate crash against the wall. The impact must have been terribly forceful for me to be able to hear it from this distance. I don't think much on it and continued to move with the rest of the guys. We were up some stairs and headed towards another elevator, or at least I thought that's where we were headed.

The boys already neared the elevator, merely waited on us to catch us. I grabbed at Pest and helped him as much as my feeble strength allowed me to. Sam had pushed in front of us and made no motion to look back. One of those atrocious monsters was far closing in on us. It was slightly perplexed by the sliding doors, which just gave us more time. We both hurried and luckily, the elevator opened as we reached our destination. We made it to safety and I pushed away from Pest and to the back of the elevator. The doors closed with a slight ring and I exhaled in utter liberation of all frustrations.

Once again, I felt my heart as it hammered against my chest in an unknown beat. If it were an instrument surely it'd be a drum, one of those big ones that seem to shake the ground during festivals. I gulped uneasily at the level of stupidity in my thoughts, and finally noticed an unfamiliar figure that shook about. It was a man, probably a few years older than I, with a pale face and puffy red eyes, probably stoned out of his mind. He glanced around bewildered. No words left his opened mouth, but the shock

I merely listened as the boys explained to Sam who Hit-Hatz was and what a lunatic son of a bitch that man was. If I had been smart about something, it was definitely my constant pattern of being able to keep away from that man's path. He was someone dangerous, and not just because of his reputation, but because of his mental instability. He had killed people, without a single regret and he'd even brag about it. Nobody from the block dared report him, for he'd just bail out and murder whoever snitched him out.

My cellphone vibrated as it received a text message. I dug it out of my pocket as it was still snuggled there, and I wondered just how it had managed to stay and not fall out, since it seemed to do the latter every time I ran. I read the message, it was from Biggz again. '_Gotta gt out of here. Wish me luck_.'

"True say. Bare police, crazy gangsters and fucked-up monsters down there," Pest leaned back tiredly, probably hurting from the ache in his leg. I wondered how he was holding up. He got considerably pale and from where I sat I sniffed out blood, though, I smelled sweat too. The unknown man glanced towards me in a fleeting fashion, only to turn his full attention back to Pest.

"We gotta go down!" The figure said, desperate. He grew quiet as Moses shook his head, "I ain't goin' down. Too many things down there's out to get me, get me?" He interjected the man, who huffed and cringed back against the lift's metal wall. He had a bag on his hand.

"Biggz is down there," I informed everyone. Jerome and Pest were the only ones who gazed my way. Sam and the man exchanged a few words. Nobody said anything pertaining to what I had just pointed out. I stood and let it go. There was nothing I could do about it. I had no credit left, I couldn't answer him. I wanted to, mainly just to tell him to stay put and that I'd find a way to get to him.

"Okay good, let's not go down," The unknown man said in a rush, scared, "Where can we go?"

There was a thrilling moment of silence before both Moses and I spoke up, "Ron." We nodded to each other. It was the perfect hideout, and away from innocent people who had no idea what the fuck was going on. I'm sure Ron wouldn't mind, even though I hadn't known the man personally and only saw him a few times. He was a rather tranquil, social man.

"Up. Ron's weed room." He said, motioned towards Pest to press the button. This was the grand plan apparently.

"What's Ron's weed room?" Sam questioned, innocently, and much to my dismay I saw exactly how serious she was.

I snickered as the man answered, I'm not sure if it was pure irony or not, "It's a big room full of weed," His eyes moved to me for a moment, but he averted them to stare at Sam, "And it's Ron." He went on to explain to her that it was and is the safest room for them right now. "Plan," Pest interrupted.

"19." Moses nodded.

* * *

**A/N: **Well, this was short. I'll be posting the next chapter later today (which WILL be Muuuch longer than this one). If you saw the movie, then you know this story is almost over. Anyways, yeah...Happy New Year's.


	8. eight: Only a Second

Disclaimer: I do **not** own Attack the Block or any of the characters, its plot, or anything involving said movie; it all belong to the amazing Joe Cornish. I do, however, own my OC Alexandra and Ezra Roy.

* * *

_Inside of me today_  
_There is no one_  
_Only asteroids and empty space_,  
_A waste.._

_...they're looking through the windows at me..._

-Mr. Bungle

* * *

I glimpsed from behind Brewis, as we all premeditated the menaces. We would be steered to the end of the hall, figures, just to make the assignment that much harder. Typically, two creatures strolled about down the corridor, in a seamless fashion. Back and forth, and ceaselessly like that, as if they were waiting around for something. I furrowed my eyebrows, confused as to why they exhibited that sort of conduct. Did they know our plans? Could they read our mind? Probably not, but it was extraneous, as they paced. Jerome shut the elevator door.

Simple and to-the-point words were reciprocated, which I didn't catch as I was too absent-minded with my own nerves. As fast as that had happened, the doors disclosed with a brief chime. Moses filtered out first, then Jerome, followed by Pest and sequentially until we were all out. We all pressed against the wall, Jerome lighted up a few rockets in Pest's hand. The pale boy pointed them towards the corridor and launched them towards the beasts. Shrieks reverberated down the hall, along with the clack of fireworks.

The boys got right to action, lighted up more and propelled those down the hall. I was temporarily distracted as the man spoke, "I'm Brewis, by the way." He summarized dashingly. He shook my hand and Sam's. "Sam." The agitated girl replied, with lost eyes.

"Alexandra," I nodded towards him in acknowledgement, and managed a small smile.

"I'm supposed to be at a house party in Fulham. Now it's like I'm trapped in this bloody block. How about you?" I snorted at his predictability, but I honored the way he dealt with his anxiety, by process of small-chat. I raised my brows expectedly towards Sam, a small smile on my face, "We both live here." She answered for us both. Brewis stopped short, and cerebrated, "Really? Wicked..."

"We're set," A voice enunciated and certainly this was the right time. Moses moved first, with the sword in his hand and that equanimity he commonly upheld. Hell, it'd be inhuman to not feel intimidated and I knew he wished to get the fuck out of here like the rest of us wanted. Or, at least that's what I was going through. This was a bad plan.

I clicked the gun ready just in case.

Pest turned on the lights, while Moses requested that we stay close together. We moved in a line formation down the hall. I was behind Pest and next to Jerome, who observed around erratically. I was too fixated with the fact that I couldn't see anything and as much as I knew, those things were probably on the ceiling or right next to me. Every move was a cautious one. Every beat of the heart lead to pure anguish and it sort of prevented me from being able to hear clearly. I gripped the gun securely with both hands, expecting something to catapult itself at me any second now.

Brewis almost whined in fear behind me and he seized on to Jerome, who was too jittery to deal with him.

"Get the fuck off me, man." The boy brushed off Brewis, who nervously breathed out, and gazed back with wide eyes. That damned animal caterwauled again. I followed his panicked gaze, and witnessed the same black shadow as it moved across the mist of tenuous smoke.

He grew frantic, much to my alarm, "Jesus, there's one behind us! Run!" He yelped, and bumped past Jerome and I, at full speed. I do the same, ushered my friend forward, before darting in the same direction Brewis went off to. I stopped to a halt when I noticed I don't hear footsteps behind me. A cold waterfall of dread washed over me. I grimaced and turned around.

Pest's voice scared me momentarily, "Jerome? Where are you, man?" I jumped, but don't move at all. I have a gun, I can kill that thing! All I needed to do was get to Jerome, wherever he was and drag him with me. It kind of pissed me off, we were so close to getting down the hall and...maybe something had grabbed him. That was far from reality, however, I didn't hear anything as to point out that he had been taken. What was he thinking? Why didn't he follow me?

Visions of Dennis's body flashed before my eyes and realization hit me, "Stupid!" I hissed and took hurried steps towards the opposite direction, where surely I'd find the boy. I couldn't see shit, and I was too scared to talk.

"Jerome!" Another frantic cry from Pest, but it was no use. I extended an arm, held the gun in the other hand and I instantly collided with something. I heard Moses now, along with Pest. Breath hitched, Jerome locked eyes with me and put down his machete, sighed out in relief. "Stop, we have-" But he shook his head, put a finger to his lips as to silence me. He shook my hand off his shoulder and stumbled forward, only to collide with the wall, dropping his machete; damn that boy.

"No, we have to go!" I hissed, desperately. I whimpered, terrified as a screech reached my ear. That horrible thing was close to us, I almost felt it brush up against my legs. All instinct in my body told me to bolt. Jerome searched frantically around for his weapon, I tried to pull at him but he brushed my hands off every time. He scurried off when yet another screech was heard, I stood froze. "Pest!" The boy ushered, "Moses! Back me!" He looked around, kept searching and searching. I couldn't move. I could only see him as he disappeared into the mist. Oh…fuck…I wanted to get out, I wanted to go home and crawl under a bed. I almost sobbed as I heard Jerome's scream.

"Jerome, Alexa, where you at!?" I heard a voice yell out from the distance. My ears rang, I was shocked frozen, and cold waves washed down my spine and hit hard against my shaking legs. My eyes were glued off to the direction Jerome went to, and I could only smell that stench off aluminum powder from the mist. I wish I could see well.

"I'm going back," I picked up from behind me, "Stay by the lights."

A gurgle and I finally broke from that spell. I stepped forward to get to Jerome but something heavy launched itself at me, and bit at my shoulder. My head hit hard against the wall and I collapsed easily on the floor. My stomach was on fire, and I didn't react fast enough. Long, pained wails left my mouth and it hurt. It hurt like fuck. I cried out again and again and tears bombed down my face. The frigid teeth of the beast dug further into my skin. I struggled with the weight of its body, and couldn't free my hand to shoot at it. There are thoughts, they distracted me and my heart thrashed wildly. I heard Pest called for me and it was a mere second… only a second. I remember that day so clearly…

My brother...I think of my brother. How decomposed his body must be now after several years of being dead. I think of him and I think back on the day he was murdered. I think back to my parents, but it's a pain in the ass, because that just builds up more tears. I have no one left to fight for. Why even bother? It's only a second and all these thoughts emerged as if suddenly, I was looking for ways to avoid having to fight back.

I think back to the days where I was younger and I was happy. Then, with no warning that event took place and I had to leave my home. I moved a million miles across the ocean to England, where my family members awaited my arrival. And it all boiled down to this moment. I had lived long and easily, or maybe not enough.

It was only a second!

I saw him, just a flashing image of that clear-eyed boy and it might not have been enough at that time but it was something. Brian, I thought of him and how he would be sad if he knew I didn't fight back or maybe he'd be angry, or maybe…I don't even know. I can't recall anything. But it's enough, I fight it off. It was only a second.

The pain gets back to me and I shrieked a strong, "Fuck," and kicked and punched with my free hand. But it was just my awful luck; the hand with the gun was the one I couldn't quite free. I continued to kick but the beast only pressed harder against my clavicle. Time sped up again and I…

The creature pulled back momentarily and I took this chance to free my arm. Its teeth were about to collide with me again. I had the opportunity to protect myself, shielded my body with my hand, only that damn thing dug its fangs into my palm. I yelped, and groaned desperately, "Brian...help me." I sobbed, in a delusional fit. I only saw him, all I could think about was him. I loved him, fuck, I couldn't die yet, I had to tell him. Against the pain, I pulled its head back with my burning hand, I clicked the gun ready, pressed salvation against the jaw of the beast and BANG! My mind went completely blank from the loud echo, but I was saved.

Its body slumped over me, like a several tables had been thrown in my direction. I struggled to get out from under it. I heard Pest's cry but I was unable to hear properly. There were too many noises, and yells and grunts all around and the sound from the bullet still resonated against my ears. I got on my hands and knees, well, used one hand seeing as how my other palm was basically missing a considerable amount of flesh. I limped away, heard serious amounts of shouts and Jerome still screamed out. I heard metal, and as if someone were beating something up, "We've got him! We killed it," said a terribly familiar voice. It was low-pitched and nasally.

The pain was unbearable and I sobbed, as I collapsed to the ground, completely worn out. I whimpered as a light illuminated me, thinking it was another one of those things. I saw a face as it stared right back at me, as it ran to me, and gathered me into his arms. I only smiled, "Brian…" This was a good way to die, I thought. It honestly wasn't so bad. He was alive. He walked several steps and eyed me, completely confused.

He shook his head, "It's Moses, man. Snap off it." He set me on my feet and pushed me forward, where Sam took me by the arm. A series of voices bickered behind me and I finally saw who that nasally voice belonged to. It was Ezra, "We pulled his body into the elevator, and he was out cold and his face…" The thin boy gave a good long look in my direction and ran to my side, "He's alive, and we saved him." A thick, American accent spoke from beside Moses. It was unfamiliar, probably the "back-up" Ezra had mentioned.

We all ascended to the next floor, finally reached the entrance of the flat. I couldn't calculate any proper thoughts. Ezra helped me walk, one arm slung over his shoulder and his hand on my waist to keep me from falling over. Moses and that unknown boy talked over some things, but I couldn't formulate anything. I was…just pained all over. My shoulder burnt and not to mention my hand. I let myself be dragged by Ezra, who seemed to be shaking too.

Moses made it to the door first, called out to Ron. The three boys knocked at the door in a rush, and pleaded at Ron to open up. It finally did and a plump man peeked from behind, almost as if hiding. "We need to hide in your weed room…" Moses explained.

Pest gulped, and added his own explanation, "It's the only safe place in the block." Brewis nodded after Moses. Ron was still hesitant, a sort of guilt in his eyes. He stared towards me and Sam, blinked once, "Dunno about that..." He dragged on, almost in a daze. The boys pleaded once more, and he eventually gave in, opening the door wide. We stumbled inside and yet another monster faced us. I cursed, and bit my lip in distress.

Hi-Hatz stood there, with a gun in his hand and his entire frame had been bathed in blood apparently. Ron apologized and closed the door behind all of us. Ezra questioned towards me in alarm and I shushed him, "I'll explain later," He nodded and the blood-covered man spoke out.

"You killed that thing," The man with lunacy in his eyes began. I gulped, looked towards everyone else. They were too enthralled with the scene before them.

Moses seemed too defeated for this, "Hi-Hatz bruv..." He started, but the man glared in a way that could almost kill.

"You brought that thing to my ends?" He continued, almost indignant, almost as if all this were a personal attack. This man was absolutely crazy. I regretted my words as soon as they ventured out, "You lunatic piece of fuck, this isn't about you!" I shrieked, and a silence filled the air, **only for a second**. Moses stared at me unbelievably, glaring me down. Wrong move, I knew it too. Hi-hatz pointed his gun straight at me.

The unknown American man raised his hands and stepped forward, "Hey, come on," The gun was directed towards him now and a shot filtered out. The body slumped down to the ground and I gasped in alarm. Ezra's arms were off me, "No! No!" He whispered and jumped to his fallen friend. Blood seeped from the wound, it had gone straight through the skull and...there was no use. He wasn't reacting either. Ezra cursed and shook his friend as if to wake him.

"I don't want no trouble..." Moses continued, and he moved in front of me. Sam pulled me back and Pest hissed at me to shut my trap. Hi-hatz went on, and blamed Moses for everything, the boy merely pleaded. He tried to make the man understand. But the older man wasn't having any of that, he still pointed that gun. I had a gun of my own, but Pest noticed what I was about to do and took my arm. He shook his head.

The man chuckled, "You brought an alien invasion to the ends." I couldn't see, but I could imagine the smile on his face. I couldn't take it anymore. Everyone moved back, gasped and I saw Moses clutch at the katana on his back. I took a step back, feeling faint. In spite of it, I motioned to Ezra to get to my side. I contemplated walking to him but he saw me and shakily moved in my direction. Thankfully, Hi-hatz hadn't seen him move or I'm sure he would have killed him too.

"Behind you bruv!" Moses warned.

"Don't chat me." Hi-hatz interrupted, in an angry fit. I motioned to Ron, who caught my eye, 'unlocked?' I mouthed, and pointed towards the weed room. He nodded instantly. That was our plan, Pest nodded too, and grabbed Sam's hand.

"Shut up!" I snapped my head back to the man, but calmed as he was still referring to Moses, who shook his head in an attempt to make the man cooperate. It was not enough. A series of creatures gathered at the wide windows, and those bastards all peered inside and waited…

Waited for what? Thoughts flickered back to me.

Reginald and Gavin, who had said the creatures darted right past them, didn't even pay attention to them. They were only going after us; they were fixated on following us...maybe they were attracted to our blood. That didn't make any sense; they would have killed Reginald and Gavin too. There had to be an explanation.

_"You know that little one you killed before?"_Tia's words rang in my mind.

_"Actions have consequences you know..."_

What had he killed? Maybe they were after him for that. But why? Were these creatures truly fixated on vengeance or was it something else? I couldn't put my finger on the reasons, all I knew was our current situation and that we desperately needed to get out of here before any sudden movement triggered those things to break through the windows. And it was going to be happening soon…


	9. nine: Madness

Disclaimer: I do **not** own Attack the Block or any of the characters, its plot, or anything involving said movie; it all belong to the amazing Joe Cornish. I do, however, own my OC Alexandra and Ezra Roy.

* * *

_What would they say  
If you went up in smoke?  
If I dug you up  
And made soup of your bones?_  
- Mr. Bungle

* * *

The terribly long distances between where I stood and the metallic door down the hall aggrieved not only me, but I was sure it affected all of us. The hall seemed to drag back into a never ending labyrinth. The weed room was so far away. Switching over to the real danger in front of me was a man with wild eyes. Hi-Hatz still confronted Moses, in a way as to show dominance. Little did he know that would be the last thing he ever do.

"This is my block, you get me?" It was this display of threat, the clicking of the gun and the ill intentions that seemed to have triggered the beasts outside the window. Moses' arm fell in defeat as he unclenched the sword on his back. I could not see his eyes from where I stood, but his shoulders slumped, and the only word that coiled against the hostile attitude of the man was a simple, "Not really,"

Pure madness entwined with tension filled the room and in a second's worth, the silence was penetrated by long howls, high-pitched shrills and aggravated growls. The flat was pretty much empty, but it suddenly felt compacted and packed with all these bodies around me. All were sweating, bloodied, tired, and breathing hard…basically just waited around for that voice in our minds to scream at us to bolt.

Hi-hatz turned around and that was it, he had been distracted enough to allow us a proper exit, though not by much however. By the sudden ruffle and screams as we headed towards the weed room, he twisted back to us and began to shoot furiously in our direction. Luckily, I was fast enough and I dragged Ezra with me. It hadn't been enough. A bullet bounced against the metallic door, but another, bigger sound caught me off guard.

In simultaneous release with the shots, the beasts broke through the window and filtered desperately inside. I dared not to look back and literally threw my body into the safety of the room and Pest took no time to shut the heavy door behind Ezra and me. I sighed; the significant size of my relief had me shaken. This did it actually, no tears flowed, and nothing was felt other than the excruciating pain from the wounds on my shoulder and my hand.

I cringed as I heard an alarmed groan and several whimpers beside me. Sam was already at Ezra's side as he fell to his knees, and clutched bloodied hands to his right eye. A considerable amount of blood poured out and I raised a hand to my mouth in shock. "The bullet…fucking shit, it bounced off the damn door. Oh fuck, oh fuck me, it hurts like a fucker!" Sam took off her shirt to reveal a white halter top that accentuated her skinny frame. She pried the boy's hands from his eye, and in turn he sobbed louder.

I knelt beside him and took his trembling hands in mine.

* * *

I was lying on my back, given that I was finally able to breathe easy and without any sort of restraint. Most importantly, I didn't need to worry that something, somewhere, would eventually jump or try to attack me. That certain fact gave a huge sense of tranquility to me. I huffed out, relaxed. My bandaged hand was on my lower stomach, and my thumb grazed against my gun. My uncle wouldn't mind, he'd probably congratulate me on being smart for once. He'd laugh and hug me, tears in his eyes. I missed him. Crazy to say, I missed my aunt too. I wondered what my sister was doing. Wondered what Biggz was doing...fucking hell, Biggz! He hadn't sent me any more messages…

I wiped a hand over my face to get the horrible thoughts away. I thanked whatever force was out there for Biggz's fight or flight reflexes, thanked the forces he was too scared witless, and was far too smart to know when to give up. He was okay, as was Jerome, who had been left in an elevator all alone. At least he hadn't been killed.

Ezra was propped up on one of the tables, with Sam's shirt on his eye. Sam had managed to stop the bleeding just a bit, which he was profoundly grateful for. The real trouble would commence if he fainted, so we tried everything to keep him awake. He held up surprisingly well so far.

What made me recoil was the broken silence. Moses's words resonated in my mind as soon as they were out of his mouth. They left a bitter trail from the pit of my stomach and to my spine, while it scrunched everything up in the process. "Tia was right," I knew exactly what he meant by it. Pest glanced at me with that knowing look, waited for me to say something. I looked down, had to think of something. The deep silence pushed at me and I struggled to lean up with shaky arms, my wounds stung, and much to my joy the burning had ceased.

"We'll fix this," I started, and Pest looked at me with raised brows, ushered me to continue, "there's gotta be a solution, by now those dimwit cops should have figured out something's wrong. The girls probably...said something. You're not-" I stopped as he shook his head weakly. He's in his head again, far too deep inside his mind to be talked out of it. I knew how he worked...I was exactly like him.

"S'not your burden to carry. Wish I never drag anyone into this," He meant me, Sam, and Brewis. He knew damn well even if he told any of the boys off, they would've just laugh it off and stood by his side despite the dangers. I couldn't believe it, "Wish we never murked you. Wish I never took that white from Hi-Hatz," It shocked me how guilty he was feeling, not caring for himself, never selfish, never...he blamed only himself, "Wish I'd just gone home and played Fifa..." He gazed at me from under his cap. His eyes were critical, and extremely remorseful, "...like Biggz said."

I began to shake my head but Pest interrupted.

"Anyone got skins?"

"No," Sam retorted, with annoyance in her voice.

_Dumbass_, I thought to myself, slumped back down in defeat. Now was not the time to smoke a joint, but it was so precise. I found that I longed for one myself. I was pleased, however, by the distraction. Moses didn't need to think on it any longer, this was just as much his situation as it was ours. WE chose to tag along, he hadn't obligated us.

"Bare weed and no skins?" His voice died down the more he spoke, and I didn't dare look, "This is my worst nightmare..."

This had been our worst nightmare.

I rose my arm, winced and pulled it down as pain etched across my shoulder, and it stroked down like hot lightning. I huffed out, tried again. I moved diligently, it was uncomfortable but I managed to bend my arm to touch my wound. There were no mirrors, but from Sam's hiss as she pulled my shirt away more than a few moments ago, I knew it was bad. She had mumbled, said it was going to get infected, surely. One fang had graced over my neck, and I could feel the swell and bump. It trailed from the back of my jaw down to my clavicle. Sam had said I was lucky, any deeper and I would have bled to death.

The other gashing wound was beside it, traveled from the back of my shoulder, over my collarbone and ended right above my armpit. The next one is on my "acromion", deep into the muscle tissue as the nurse had said. She said I had been watched upon, that luckily no bones had been crushed. I had more wounds on my mid-back, she could tell from the blood and the way the cloth on my blouse had been penetrated into the skin, but she didn't find anything sharp to cut the shirt off with. Said that was keeping the blood from gushing out. I thanked her after she finished.

"...Boy, you's tetchy! He's tryin' to apologize to you, man!" I looked up from my arm, towards the group of people behind me. My neck movement is limited though. Moses moved, Sam moved, Pest moved. The other man, Brewis, sat completely still, blinked slowly, mind reeled. I stared questionably and decided to stand up too. Moses' shoes as they screeched against the ground tempted me. It took me a while, but I managed, shook my head at Ezra who was about to rush over to me to help.

I snickered as Pest pestered the young nurse, snickered more at my pathetic pun more than anything. Sam's boyfriend, I had met him, he was a real looker. He had that sort of poise that just screamed dominance, and I had a feeling he was too much to handle for her, but it worked out apparently. Yet, their innocence was not on the same level. That man was too much in a sense that she would be overwhelmed any second and unhappy the next. He left her alone, for fuck's sake, even if it was out of good merit. She was unprotected.

I blinked. There was that bioluminescent light again, I cringed away at first, but approach Brewis who noticed it too, kneeled and wiped hair from his face. Something clicked, this was definitely a clue, but I wasn't in my right state of mind to actually piece it all together. There was a trail under the rotten dead thing, the same splatter that glowed all over Moses's jacket and a bit on my shoulder too. Brewis' got it all figured out, his eyes squinted for a moment and later widened in realization.

"Maybe it's a pheromone..." He stated, I'm thinking it's more to himself, to conjugate his ideas clearly.

My own mind reeled in, maybe it's like bees. When one is threatened they release this sort of odor that alerts the others close by. But these creatures were sucked in, instead of escaping. It had to be something else...maybe like the man had said, it was a sex pheromone.

Brewis continued, "Maybe that one's a female and the other ones are male..."

I straightened considerably, already knowing what to do to get to Biggz.

"...space on solar winds or something, like spores. And whatever planet they hit first, the female leaves a pheromone trail..."

I grew anxious, hoped they would get to my conclusion too. We could get out of here alive. All we had to do is get out of these clothes and walk right on out the door, leave those creatures and get the fuck out of there. The feds would take care of it, the army, whatever. Nobody else had to die.

"You fancy him or something?" The scowl on Pest's face, made me roll my eyes, "You tryin' to get him naked?"

"All that blood loss is messing up your head, boy," The scowl was now directed towards me, I grinned as he flipped me off.

"No," Brewis muttered casually, a bit awkwardly, "I'm trying to save your life. And, eh, in answer to your question earlier," He paused, pointed at Pest who raised a brow. We both watched as the man kneeled close to his bag and pulled out a package of skins. What a fucking life saver, not only brains, but this man was on a roll of luck.

"Alexa," A voice uttered, I recognized it as being Moses'. I turned to him and spoke out my idea, "We can get out of here safely now. You don't have to blame yourself..." I smiled, but the joy of the news didn't seem to reach him at all, and he pulled me back as I was about to walk to Pest, who lighted up his joint.

"I get it now," He continued, his gaze is cast down, "Yo Brewis? Everyone who touched that thing got murked, you know," He breathed out raggedly, blinked slow, gulped almost as if in pain, "Dennis...Jerome...Tonks. Them Feds after they touched me. Everyone who had that scent on them. So, if they follow the smell on that, then... I can lead them," He straightened his back, got that look in his eyes as if he'd compromised to it long ago, yet there was something else...courage.

I didn't care, he couldn't do this alone! "No," My eyes meet with Sam, but she quickly looked away.

"Lead them where?" Brewis ignored me as well. That idea was utterly stupid; we could get out of here alive! We were just kids, we didn't have to deal with this sort of shit, I knew he felt responsible for killing that thing but he hadn't known better, he didn't know what sort of mortal danger it would inflict upon the block. Damn it!

"Somewhere I can blow them up." I stared unbelievably, sorrow raised and pressed at my stomach again. I couldn't lose another friend. At the beginning of all this I thought we would all die...what if I had been right? What if we were all destined to die at the jaws of those monstrosities? We were safe NOW, we could avoid more deaths! Why couldn't they see that?

"Yes fam! Deffo! Blow them up!"

I glared at Pest, but he was too concentrated on smoking away his pain.

"No!" I said, louder. Moses turned to me and back to the group, "I killed that thing. I brought it in the block. If I hadn't, no one would be dead." Goddamn his remorse. Goddamn it. He was already dead-set on it. I gave in as he motioned to Sam, the plan probably already piecing together in his head.

I slumped down where Brewis was previously sat, extended my arm towards Pest who placed the smoke between my fingers. Ezra joined me, wobbled from his place on the table and diligently slouched next to me. I took no time to puff, along with smoking down the protests and the fear. Fear…that fucker, it had clung to me since the start of this day, since this month, since I broke up with Biggz, when my parents died, when my sister went away, and when I had to watch my brother crawl half-dead from the store, telling us to call for help. It was always present. It was time for a change.

"I've gotta finish what I started," The boy…I supposed, a man now, that had to adapt to responsibility too early in his life. They were fucked up responsibilities that happened once in a thousand years and unbeknownst to everyone had to involve him and innocent children. That's what we were, mere children.

_He_ was a fucking **hero**. I really hoped he knew what he was doing. I hoped to fuck he wouldn't die.

Pest glanced at me, eyes drooping, pale complexion and horrible bags under his eyes. He needed a doctor. "It's a horrible idea," I pointed out the obvious and leaned my head back against the wooden table, uncomfortable as I had moved my neck too much. It hurt my wound even more. It felt oddly cold, as if someone had placed a bag of ice against it or something. Ezra had his head against my uninjured shoulder and I gripped his hand, knew that he would fall asleep soon.

Pest nodded, "the worst, trust. But it's gotta be done. There's a reason why I ain't talking Moses out of it, y'know. There's just no way. He's adamant...is that a word?" He snickered and took another drag from the joint, "Tsk, I'm hammered,"

"Believe," I mocked his frequent phrase, which he responded with a simple dazed smile. Ron's weed was something to truly marvel.

* * *

**A/N: **I kind of proofread the first 2 chapters of this fanfic. I'll be doing the same with the rest. This story is almost over, btw.


	10. ten: Amaranthine

Disclaimer: I do **not** own Attack the Block or any of the characters, its plot, or anything involving said movie; it all belong to the amazing Joe Cornish. I do, however, own my OC Alexandra and Ezra Roy.

* * *

_And there's no greater love,  
Than that one  
shed his blood for his friends…  
_- Thrice

* * *

The smell of weed countered the stench of sweat and blood, and in a constant desperation, Pest lighted up one joint after another. He passed one to Ezra, who now sat beside him in silence, and occasionally answered the pale boy who questioned his whereabouts. Ezra's mood hadn't deteriorated, but from his slumped shoulders I could easily tell he was doing his best not to fall asleep.

As of this moment, I held a towel up in front of Sam, covered her as she changed into Brewis' clothes. I hadn't smoked as much as the guys had. I began to feel rather nauseous after taking a drag of that second joint. My nose was rather runny and to the touch my skin felt arduous. Albeit, I felt quite the opposite, visibly shivering from the cold. It wasn't a particularly ambient wintry kind of icy since this room had to be especially warm for the weed to grow, and the air conditioners were off, but it was… I couldn't explain it. I felt this growing cold and I had one thing to blame…it was the wound.

"Okay, I'm done. Thanks." She nodded at me and I set the towel down, trailed after her as she stepped to Brewis who held the UV light. I stood next to Pest as he leaned forward against the table, perplexed. The light slowly went from the top of her head to her shoes, she turned around and back to us every so often. There didn't seem to be any more of that glowing stuff Moses had on him. Now we had to hope Brewis's theory was plausible.

"You look clean," The man finally uttered after several inspections. Pest quickly piped in, nodded approvingly too, "You look good..." He drawled in pure stupor. I snorted at such expectedness, but retained any comments on it. I smiled towards a nervous looking Sam, who looked on the brink of bolting from trepidation.

"I'm betting my life we're right about this," Sam's voice rang with anxiety, her breath was shaken. I had volunteered to go, but my wounds were bleeding and I'd most likely end up fainting along the way. Other than that, there was no other way around it. This had to be done, to save all our asses. I grimaced, I'd just have to go through a few more moments and I'd finally get to Biggz…I really wanted to see him.

"...if I wasn't so profoundly stoned." Brewis avowed in reassurance, or what seemed like it.

"Likewise," Pest affirmed right after.

I moved to Moses who was deep in thought, as he waited for Sam to be ready. I couldn't tell what he was thinking; he wasn't like Biggz, who was exceptionally easy to read by his expressions and quirks. Biggz looked up to him and I could clearly see why. He was so much like an older brother to all of us. Moses had been forced out of teen hood too early in his life. That fact was evident in the way he carried himself around, looking independent, but he wouldn't have gotten where he was without the boys. He had a purpose, and it was them, his friends. It finally clicked.

Moses explained to the woman what was to be done. I couldn't stand to look at him though, and I could only muster up a simple, "Good luck." That was directed to both of them. Sam who looked like she wanted to hug me, smiled nervously instead. Moses nodded. 'Good luck', how cheesy of me. But what else could I say? It was all up to them at this point. There was simply no going back.

I plopped down next to Pest who was breathing uneasily, too heavy. Maybe smoking hadn't been a good idea. He whined as Moses asked him for a ring, and I looked around confused. The boy seemed broken up as he slid towards Moses, put something in the taller boy's hand. Moses handed it to Sam, who was a bit surprised. She thanked him, more with that stare she gave him than with the shaky words. He reciprocated with the same gaze.

There was something different about Sam now, or at least that's the way I perceived her posture. She opened her mouth once, and sighed. She seemed determined, "Even if you out-run them, even if you make it, how are you going to get out?" Pest clicked his tongue at that and kicked at Ezra, as I had also noticed he had been resting his eyes for far too long. His eyelids fluttered open and he gave a weak thumbs-up.

I looked away from them both and concentrated on the unfamiliar sight before me. Moses appeared unshaken, though he didn't answer for a minimum amount of seconds, "Don't worry about me, man," He nodded, with stupid courage that also traced along his words.

"You don't have to do this, Moses," Sam challenged the boy's bravery, like a mother would. I would have butted in the conversation, but it would be for nothing. Instead, I sat there and thought. Sam's words reminded me of my aunt. She used that same tone of voice when she knew I was doing something dangerous or something unfavorable on my behalf.

I focused on the younger boy, a 15 year old who would either die or succeed in saving us all. His poise never wavered, "Yeah. I do," He stated firmly.

Pest moved beside me and my attention was momentarily fractured by the sudden stir. He had brought a leg up, and positioned an arm above it. He watched Moses intently, and they both nodded towards each other in a silent understanding. He bid Sam farewell, with a small smirk, "We can get some coffee sometime, if you change' your mind 'bout the area…" He grinned, and the woman merely rolled her eyes and headed towards the door. As I found myself with that awful habit of creeping on conversation, I decided it best to crawl toward Ezra, who now pinched his arm to stay awake.

I sat down in front of him, and rubbed at my sleepy eyes. I was unsure of the time but it must have been sometime around 1 or 2 in the morning. My entire body was ready to slump down in defeat. I needed sleep, for the first time I actually felt it to be a necessity instead of it being a burden as it so often was. I locked eyes with Ezra and smiled...what else could I do? I felt so vulnerable.

From there on out, I guessed it would be a long wait...too long...


	11. eleven: Lament the Days

Disclaimer: I do **not** own Attack the Block or any of the characters, its plot, or anything involving said movie; it all belong to the amazing Joe Cornish. I do, however, own my OC Alexandra and Ezra Roy.

* * *

_And in a way it's fine_  
_We're walking through wind_  
_Unfamiliar scenes _  
_We're choking to live  
- _The Walkmen

* * *

"It's time, fam," Moses declared, a backpack strapped onto his back with that monstrous looking thing on it. I stared in awe, and it finally sunk in that he was actually prepared to do this, despite any consequence. I stared at the sword in his hand, temporarily reminding me of Dennis… I hoped to god Moses got through what he was about to do, safe and sound.

"Moses versus the monsters…Kill 'em, kill all them things," Pest said beside me, a gleam to his eyes and I wasn't sure if it was something concrete or just the redness from getting high.

This deem, what Moses was about to do…it was for our friends, and for the block, to protect our family, to protect our sanctuary from this terrible invasion. Surely, if this worked out, it would be the end of it. The ending of it all, however, was what worried me most. Anything could happen.

"Allow it," The boy nodded towards us and we got into position. Brewis and Pest were at the door, and I was about to follow them when Moses stopped me, "We'll search for Biggz later, Alexa. When them things are chasin' after me, you, Pest and Brewis, that friend of yours, get 'em all out. Get off the block," He articulated, never once taking his eyes off the door.

"I will," I replied, with firm assurance. I leaned against the metal table and instantly the strong smell of that familiar smoke met my nose. The fireworks were lit, Brewis jumped at the door and it opened with a bang. Smoke filtered to the room outside, creating that familiar mist and the silence was easily penetrated with the clamorous melody of explosives. I watched as Moses jumped over the couches, and that was the last we all saw of him before Brewis closed the door shut.

The entire place seemed to crumble down to pieces as those fuckers marched heavily and desperately after Moses. I couldn't see it but I could hear it, how they chased the awful scent of rotten corpse and pheromones. The smell stuck to me, it stung at my nose and I kept back a sneeze. My throat was dry, too dry for my liking but it would be over soon. It had been a few minutes and the three of us sat in contemplation.

Pest's head was tucked on my shoulder, his eyes closed as he complained about a migraine. It shocked me momentarily that he'd display this sort of fondness towards me, even if it was just to lean his head on my shoulder. But I figured we'd been through enough, and I for one, was too tired.

I had my ears blocked and focused on the sound of my breathing, to forget about the beastly shrills and shrieks of those things outside. It wouldn't be long before they all caught on and ran towards that stench. I hoped it would that way, anyway. I watched Brewis briefly, who was crouched a foot or two away from me, concealed his face with his arms as he wiped furiously at the sweat that slid from his forehead. Blotches of dried blood covered his pale face, from his nose. Ezra still stood and walked around occasionally to stay awake.

The last of the rumbles settled down to a mere slip and the sound of claws against wooden floor. The silence was our cue, but we were too settled to move. I sat there, waited for one of them to say something. But the words didn't come and the hush etched. Maybe this moment was good, or something. What were we waiting for? Moses to come back? He had clearly instructed us to get out of here as soon we thought it safe.

Something buzzed in my pocket. Both boys looked to me and I shuffled, using my healthy arm to get the cellphone out. I struggled, but eventually managed. The screen was still broken, of course. '3 messages', it read.

I went to the Inbox list, skimmed down the names: Uncle, Brian, Brian's mom.

"Biggz' okay," Pest sighed in relief; he took the phone from my hand and read his friend's message first, "ATB got the place on lock down. We're fucked. Regs and Gav are with me, hidin' in the bin. they burnt one of them fuckers dead. Dennis won't answer me? I'm okay, see you soon. love you." As he read the last part, he eyed me with a small smirk and passed me the phone. I smiled awkwardly and averted my gaze.

"They think we're terrorists...my dad is going to kill me," Brewis stood in alarm, "We're fucked, we're so fucked. They're gonna find the weed, they'll arrest us, completely cover up the whole incident and lock us up...gracious fuck..." He went about and paced around the room with hands on his head. I gazed over to Ezra, who eyed Brewis as if he were on crack. The man went absolutely bonkers, rambled on about a car, his lack of will, and still went on about his father.

"Bruv, calm the fuck down…" Pest tsk'ed as he attempted to rise from the floor. I stood up first and helped the boy gain his balance until he leant against the table.

I untied my long, wavy hair and pulled it a bit higher and secured it in a bun. Upon further inspection of my surrounding, Ezra's wavering state caught my attention and it was now or never. We had to get Pest and him to a doctor or whatever, so they could fix up their wounds. Especially, Ezra…and hell, he was far too pale, his veins almost pressing against his skin.

This felt like a movie, a bad movie at that. It was past seeming like a dream, or a nightmare. It felt unreal, miserable but there was such emptiness…I was so tired, so disconnected. This was the right time. We had to get back on track and out of here.

Brewis went back into his long rant, and I approached him, "These will help, though. I snapped some pics when we were outside of Ron's door, it's foggy but you can see the teeth. Also when we were in the elevator. Oh fuck," I touched his arm, not sure if I should have slapped him too. He faced me, his breathe quick and heavy, eyes widened.

"Just calm down, will you? We don't have time for bullshit, we have to get out of here, okay?"

He barely nodded. "Say it with me," He gulped, waited, "We have to get out to safety."

"We have...out...safety. We have to. Shit, yes, we have to get out of here!"

And like that, we stumbled to get our weapons. Gun in hand, bat in Pest's hand, a broom Brewis had found somewhere, and Ezra stood behind me. We trailed slowly out of the weed room. Ron was already there, turned to us scared and sighed shakily, "Fuck, lads, you scared me."

"Did Moses?" He continued, questioned the empty room and Pest nodded. It's kind of funny how he already figured that one out; it was always Moses, always the brave one. He hadn't expected any else, neither of us did. The boys chatted amongst each other and we finally decided to get out of the room.

We crept to the door, diligent and nervous, one moment there's silence and the next...I jumped as did the other guys. The building seemed to shake as a solid 'boom' echoed down the corridor. I looked over at Pest who had done the same. I gulped, didn't say anything. The plan worked, but there was a 50/50 chance of Moses getting out of there alive. We both knew that, which is why we refused to say anything on the matter.

I nervously stood behind the 3 boys, and felt Ezra's hand tightened on my shirt. We sneaked down the hall, which still contained the smoke and that ardent smell of firework residue. The seconds dragged on, beat in unison with the blood as it pumped through my veins. We had barely made it down the hall when Brewis stopped at Ron's 'ah shit'. I gently pushed Pest to the side to get a better view. Shadows loomed behind the mist. "Is that more of those monsters?" Brewis whispered. The dark figure looked to be about the same size as the monster, though…there was a bit of familiarity.

"Sort of," The boy sighed out, he gazed at me, took the gun from my hand knowingly.

Figures, HUMAN figures came into view, and the booming voices shocked us back, "Drop your weapon! On the floor! Get down! Down!" I recoiled, my body hit against the ground as I saw the various riffles pointed in our direction. There were there to rescue us, finally! "I need a doctor," Ezra spoke up, a hand still on his eye.

My relief washed down as the opposite of what I had expected happened. Those fuckers weren't there to save us. They cuffed Brewis, pulled him up. Cuffed Pest, and later on Ron. They cuffed me too. My arm hurt like a bitch as it was pulled back, as they pulled on it to pull me on my feet. I couldn't quite see what had become of Ezra, but there were several voices speaking. I just hoped they took him to a doctor on time.

My anger seeped through as they shoved me down some stairs, the man's firm grip only worsened the pain on my arm and I bit my tongue. Brewis and Ron were desperate as they tried to get their officer's attention, tried to explain. As Brewis struggled, one of the officers sighed and forcefully pushed him forward, too hard. He fell to his knees and I instantly exclaimed in protest.

"Don't push him!" I snapped angrily, met eyes with Brewis who looked as bewildered as I did, "There's a room full of dead monsters in room 191, and you're here pushing us around?" My cries went unanswered, not that I had expected anything else. I silently fumed, and trailed along once more, unsure of what else to do.

The nerves bit at me, every inch of me. I bit my lip, and carried on. We're dragged down the stairs and to the main lobby. The boys protest again, and got the attention of a few people. Rather familiar faces are being rushed out of the building too, I looked around desperate to find who I had searched for all night. I spotted Moses' along the way. He's led to the entrance, Pest shouted after him, proclaimed him as the savior, the hero. I can't help but fully agree.

I moved silently, gazed amongst the crowd. My head is killing me, my arm and shoulder hurt even more. The wound is freezing cold now. I inspected the crowd again, all eyes are on Moses. I searched still, but…he doesn't seem to be there. Biggz isn't there. I blinked back the tears. An officer pushed me forward again, and I almost fall, but their hands kept me up.

"Why do you always arrest the wrong people? Don't you get it, Moses is a hero! Don't you get it? He saved the block!" Oh shit, that voice. I began to struggle now, my body straightened as I heard that one voice yelling. I can't locate it, I searched feverously and finally...all anguish dropped, I felt something I had never felt before. In my proclaimed 18 years of shitty mistakes and unwanted scenarios, even with the pain and the deaths, I wouldn't have this moment any other way.

I am locked solely on him, just watched in astonish, as if I hadn't seen him in years. I should have known better than to think he could die. With his eyes widened and all, he's there. I don't break eye contact, even as the tears descended, even as everything grew blurred. My body moved on its own, I struggled forward towards him, my whole world drowning in relief. I couldn't help it any longer; the sobs erupted in a wave of panic. Hands hold me back, nevertheless, "Brian…" I exhaled as I restrained the sobs.

"Alexandra!" He shouted, ran forward only to be held back by the police in yellow. His hands pushed against them, almost jumped over them, "Alexa, Alexa!" But I'm pushed again, the cops hissed for me to move on. My eyes never break contact from him, and I can finally say that it was all worth it, not giving up…it had been worth it; even if it only meant a few seconds of seeing him…

* * *

_The devil's always boring me_  
_About the angel that he used to be._  
_He'd do anything._  
_I'm gonna be there when you're going down,_  
_Be there when you're going down  
-_Sound Team

* * *

I watched in content as Moses smiled from the cheers and rooting outside. The shouts grew louder with each passing moment. They erupted to full screams and claps, and they only praised the young teen that had saved us all, "You're a true hero, mate." Brewis leaned in to get a bit more comfortable in his seat. Ron, who sat next to Moses piped in, "That's right, lad. You'll be famous now." I nodded in agreement, grinned at Moses' content face.

"After they throw our asses to jail," Pest interjected, as he rolled his eyes.

I shrugged, leaned my head back. But I dreaded the situation to come, that maybe they would cover it all up. It terrified me, but we had to hope for the best. I knew things wouldn't be that simple, though. And right now, there were so many things besides the future in my mind…

"I'm so glad I'm high right now," Pest mumbled beside me, an exasperated sigh left his lips.

"True," I snickered in reply.

Brewis and Ron joined in soon after, amiably brought up things that didn't border around the events of tonight. I watched Moses, whose gaze was on the window which was covered by the van door. My smile died off instantly as I saw the trickles of tears running down his face. The joyous reaction had died off. I dared not speak, but I couldn't look away either.

He was a hero, but with that came the responsibility of being and feeling like one (the losses, the risk, the constant need to protect those that he loved). It was a hassle; it would have been to me. The shouts resonated all around and it seemed to pain Moses now.

The words of Scott Fitzgerald etched in my mind...

"Show me a hero and I'll write you a tragedy."

I averted my gaze as the tears slid down onto his shirt, his eyes closed in lament.

* * *

_Goodbye sober day_,  
_The years grew wings and flew away...  
Ghosts of the past become barbarians_  
_of the future..._  
_And I still pity you_  
_Because what you said was true...  
-_Mr. Bungle

* * *

**A/N: **Shittiest ending ever, lol. Anyways, the sequel will be up soooon ~ Hope you enjoyed reading this! 3


End file.
